Feds agree to pay $52 million to not build NC’s ‘road to nowhere,’ ending decades-long dispute

Feds to pay $52M for NC road still going nowhere

RALEIGH, N.C. — The federal government has agreed to pay a $52 million settlement so it will not have to complete a so-called “road-to-nowhere” through North Carolina’s mountain wilderness. officials said Tuesday, ending a dispute that began during World War II.

U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler said Tuesday that the agreement nullifies a 1943 pact. The government had agreed during World War II to build a 30-mile roadway into the North Carolina wilderness, which would replace a highway that was flooded to build a damn.

Shuler says the money will be a huge boon for the area. However, one county commissioner, David Monteith, says the government should keep its promise so family cemeteries can be accessed. He says thousands of people left their homes because the government built the dam.