This second broken promise has resulted in the county filing a lawsuit for the remaining balance. With those results the government agreed to pay out $58 million to Swain County, however, to date only $12 million has been paid. In 2007 an environmental study showed the road would cause no environmental damages. This strange dead end gave rise to the local nickname “The Road to Nowhere”. Once on the other side even the gravel dissolves into nothing but forest and a few hiking trails. Visitors find the blacktop abruptly ends and is followed by a wide gravel road that leads through a huge tunnel. The promise to the relocated families that they’d have access to their ancestral land and family cemeteries was broken. ![]() Work on the project was halted due to environmental and financial concerns from the 1970’s to 2007 no work was done on the road. Since the project began in 1943 less than 7 miles of the road and one tunnel were constructed. The federal government agreed to build Lakeview Drive along the north shore of the lake to give families access to the 1,047 graves now cut off by the lake and national forest. One of these sunken roads, Highway 288, previously led to the residents’ family cemeteries. The sites of homes, buildings, bridges, and many miles of road were now underwater. Four towns, Fontana, Bushnell, Forney, and Judson were sunk and the 1,311 families that these towns represented had to relocate. Before Fontana Lake existed this land was not a wilderness of trees. When the dam was completed just 36 months later the resulting lake covered approximately 11,700 acres with around 240 miles of shoreline. However, on Januconstruction of the Fontana Dam began. This road would have never been started if the lake had not been created. People of all ages will enjoy taking a short walk up this road and through the massive tunnel ending in the Great Smoky Mountain National Forrest. ![]() It is an interesting reminder of the area’s history and a topic of local scandal. The Road to Nowhere is a great stopping point for visitors to the Bryson City area.
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