TDOT attempts to destroy Gatlinburg via the Hwy 321 project

I can hardly wait for Jeff Foxworthy to hear about Tennessee Department of Transportation's (TDOT) plans. Where else than in Tennessee do people remove mountains, install concrete barriers to keep the mountains back and then paint the walls to look like they belong. There has got to be a joke in there somewhere. My neighbor told me a couple of years ago that our grandchildren will someday ask, "Mommy, what was a mountain?" By the looks of Sevier County he was on target.

TDOT is breaking new ground in the area of removing mountains and painting walls to look like the mountains. Gatlinburg and the TDOT can be proud of their breakthrough design strategies. The city can now do away with any building code requirements having to do with the outside of a structure. We can build a nice concrete block building and paint it to look like a nice mountain log cabin or governorsÂ’ mansion, or maybe even the Parthenon or how about a replica of the Mountain View Inn or whatever we like. That will reduce construction costs quite a bit as well as speed up development.

Gatlinburg will be the butt of jokes for years to come as tourists drive the concrete corridor and look in bewilderment at the concrete barrier walls painted to look like real rocks and the larger walls painted like treeless nothings and wonder why things were not left as they were since the paint is attempting to make things look like they used to be. The view should be picturesque as the tourists look out over the painted short barriers to see the mountains. As they take pictures and other people across the country view those pictures they too will be able to appreciate what Gatlinburg and the State of Tennessee have done and reputations of both should grow in leaps and bounds. Southern Living should be able to do at least a couple of stories on the subject of Tennessee landscaping techniques and maybe My South can tape a couple of episodes.

When, as expected, thousands and tens of thousands of cars use the concrete corridor has any thought been given to what they will do at light 3 in Gatlinburg? Do you suppose we can look forward to traffic backed up to City Hall or maybe even to Glades similar to the backup at the intersection of Rt 66 and Chapman/Dolly Parton highways?

As was said during the meeting, the Resource Team, made up of area citizens, has no authority. ThatÂ’s fair since no one has any responsibility for the debacle that is now attempting to be mitigated.

But that's just politics isn't it? No reason to cry over spilt milk. When the going gets tough, the tough gets going, cliche, cliche. It is too late for Gatlinburg and now is the time to just try to make things look as nice as possible, live with the jokes and the criticism, and take our experience and paintbrushes and go on to the next project.

The City of Gatlinburg had almost no input in this whole process. As a resident I resent the State of Tennessee destroying parts of the city in which I live and the City Leadership for failing to raise public awareness of what was going to be happening to our fair city. I thought at the very least the city was looking out for our welfare, wrong...........