![]() ![]() The opinions expressed in their articles are their own. Our writers are independent contributors. If you would like to receive the Almanac Music and Poetry newsletter we will add you to the list. Read more stories from Almanac Music HERE The name was confirmed, ‘Road To Nowhere’, and the puzzle finally solved.įor whatever reason I’ve never had a great deal of interest in David Byrne or Talking Heads but after watching that clip I did the Spotify thing and listened, and I’m now a fan. And, as they played I realised it was the long lost song the song Mic Conway had sung all those years ago. Intrigued, I remained watching as he and his ensemble started performing live, barefooted and all in grey, as they marched around the studio playing and singing. Anyway, fast forward to a couple of years ago and a clip on FaceBook showed David Byrne being interviewed on an American late night show to promote American Utopia that had opened on Broadway. In 2018, the last payment was made in the settlement the funds are held by the state of North Carolina and Swain County receives interest on the settlement money.Īs for the road itself, it will remain as it is now: going nowhere.Many years ago, at the Port Fairy Folk Festival I think it was, or it could have been Byron Bay, I heard Mick Conway’s National Junk Band play a song I’d never heard before, and I thought, ‘Wow, I like that!’ But for the life of me, Mic either forgot to mention the title or else I missed it if he did.įor years I wondered what the name of the song was though I had a sneaking suspicion it may have been titled something like ‘Road To Nowhere’ due to its mention in the refrain numerous times. As of 2016 only $12 million had been paid, and the county filed a lawsuit for the remainder of the promised money. Department of Interior agreed to pay a consolation prize of $52 million to Swain County in lieu of building the road. ![]() ![]() The road sat unfinished for decades, and finally, the U.S. The only solution was to stop construction. The rock had the potential to turn runoff acidic, threatening wildlife in nearby streams. The road was never finished due to environmental concerns: someone noticed that snowflakes melted unusually quickly on the newly exposed rock, as well as a strong smell of sulfur. This small section, still there today, is about seven miles long and ends abruptly at a quarter-mile tunnel in the park, in the middle of nowhere. The people were moved, the water rose, and by the 1970s-30 years after the original agreement was made-only a small portion of the road was built. The road was to be cut through the newly created Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It was intended not only to allow people to make the journey but to provide ongoing access to their ancestral lands and cemeteries. To assuage those being displaced, part of the dam deal was to build a road from Bryson City to Deals Gap along a route north of the river. Where there had previously been small towns, villages, and homesteads along the north side of the river, there was now Fontana Lake, and the people who lived and worked there were either bought out or moved off. The people that did not benefit were the flooded-out communities along the banks of the rising water. War Department, the aluminum company stood to benefit from all that hydroelectric power coming in. The United States’ entry into World War II meant a huge spike in the demand for aluminum for aircraft, ships, and munitions, so a deal was struck for the TVA to build the dam with ALCOA as the primary consumer. ![]() It was a long and winding road to getting the dam built, and what was lost during the journey can be seen in the nearby “Road to Nowhere.”įontana Dam was built in 1941, on land given over to the Tennessee Valley Authority by the Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA). The Fontana Dam, rising high above the Little Tennessee River in western North Carolina, is the tallest dam in the eastern United States. ![]()
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