Final Case Study for the National Scenic Byways Study: A Case Study of the Environmental Impact of the Blue Ridge Parkway

Details

• Corporate Creators:
  Blount, Dillon & Associates
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Case studies
  • Scenic highways
  • Environmental impacts
  • Parkways
  • Leisure time
• Publication/ Report Number:
  FHWA-ED-90-046
• Resource Type:
  Other
• Geographical Coverage:
  Canada;United States
• Corporate Publisher:
  United States. Federal Highway Administration
• Abstract:
  The Blue Ridge was among the world's first parkways design exclusively for leisure travel. In that role, it has become a model for other parkways in the U.S. in many respects -- planning, design, natural resource conservation and land protection. In 1935 when construction began, no precedent existed for a 470-mile road that had recreation and preservation among its primary purposes. New policies had to be created, new practices established and decisions made based on these. A discussion of the environmental impacts of the Blue Ridge parkway must at once recognize the overriding purpose of the roadway as being to enhance and protect environmental and cultural resources while necessarily disrupting and dividing the land area it seeks to protect. Many Parkway observers believe that the magnitude of a project like the Blue Ridge Parkway, if initiated under today's extensive regulatory controls and dynamic political and economic climate would not survive.
• Format:
  PDF
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/54323/dot_54323_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 7.17 MB]
• Collection(s):
  Federal Highway Administration
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:8fe970bff5cdeb5f59d5708016d3f77a14ab1c41a04260927fad9070beccedaed5ced016f0d891fbe2e3e4e8723584829355ca06c4797c12da81360ca25b8103