Blue Ridge Parkway documentary

[cpzilliacus]

Happened to catch a documentary film from 2010 about the construction of the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia and North Carolina which aired on one of our local PBS channels last night (we have two).   

Much of it was anti-Parkway in nature - that many landowners were not well treated by the government, and that some (such as the Eastern Cherokee and the owner of Grandfather Mountain) got much better deals than others. 

But it did have a few interesting segments.  Apparently President Roosevelt had originally promoted a planned parkway that would have run from Vermont to Georgia (that would have been pretty cool). 

North  Carolina Rep. Robert L. "Muley Bob"  Doughton played a critical role in keeping all of the Parkway in North Carolina, instead of a significant segment being constructed in Tennessee.

The film correctly pointed out that there is more and better access to the Parkway in Virginia than there is in North Carolina. 

There's a section featuring the Superintendent of the Parkway (at least in 2010) asking for more funding to maintain the infrastructure (sound familiar?). 

[Road Hog]

Apparently President Roosevelt had originally promoted a planned parkway that would have run from Vermont to Georgia (that would have been pretty cool).

I-81 almost fulfilled this by one state on either end.

[cpzilliacus]

Apparently President Roosevelt had originally promoted a planned parkway that would have run from Vermont to Georgia (that would have been pretty cool).

I-81 almost fulfilled this by one state on either end.

While there are many parts of I-81 that do qualify (in my opinion) as scenic (I've driven all of it between I-40 in Tennessee and Binghamton, N.Y.), it does not have the spectacular views that Parkway drivers enjoy. 

And unlike I-81, there are no tractor-trailer combinations allowed on the Parkway.

[Henry]

Sounds like an interesting documentary to watch! Especially the part where President Roosevelt wanted a much longer scenic parkway to complement the Appalachian Trail.

[NE2]

I suppose you can hop over to US 15 to continue north on a no-trucks route to Maryland. Though the Leesburg sprawl is hardly scenic.