"One of my notions is that there's still a chance to change it, but now's the time," Sibley said. "The ship of sprawl is headed for the rocks, but there's still time to turn the ship. If we don't, sooner or later, we're going to cruise past the opportunity. The Northern Arc is the defining decision on which way we're going to go."
The Georgia Conservancy president frequently predicts a devastating effect on Lake Allatoona from the Arc and the development it is likely to spur. With silt from construction sites and runoff from the road, parking lots and driveways pouring into Allatoona's tributaries, the Arc will deliver the coup de grace to the environmentally challenged lake, according to Sibley.
'Nothing new'|
To the business interests and frustrated commuters who want the Northern Arc to be built, Sibley, the Sierra Club and other environmental advocates are knee-jerk naysayers, Luddites standing in the way of necessary growth, commerce and mobility.
"The Northern Arc is nothing new. It really isn't any different than any other road, but it's a big project that's easier for these environmental extremists to talk about," said Terry Lawler, president of Georgians for Better Transportation, an organization of real estate developers, highway contractors, utilities, government agencies and others with an ardent interest in road construction and other transportation issues.
Lawler is the most visible spokesman for the Arc's construction. He said the road is badly needed to take truck traffic off Ga. 20 and I-285, which are currently the only alternatives to trucks, especially those from the carpet manufacturers in Dalton and poultry processors in Gainesville needing to cross between I-75 and I-85.
"In those communities that have another limited-access highway, you will have east-west access you've never had before," Lawler said.
Jeffrey Humphreys, director of the Selig Center for Economic Development at the University of Georgia, said the Arc is essential to Atlanta's ability to compete with other cities nationwide for new business. Traffic congestion, according to Humphreys, "is the biggest threat to growth in the Atlanta region."
The Arc "will function as a developmental highway," Humphreys said. "Companies are always demanding new green-field sites, and they like to have a lot to choose from."
Economic windfalls from the Arc will extend far beyond the $2.4 billion that will be spent on the engineers, designers, pavers and providers of materials and equipment required to build it. The road will also create a wealth of opportunties for the land speculation that precedes construction of new homes, offices and malls on land that is suddenly a tolerable drive from the city and other suburban centers.
To the environmental advocates, homeowners and others who oppose the Northern Arc, those pushing the road are greedy, misguided, self-centered or co-opted. Many Arc opponents attribute Barnes' support for the road to his need for re-election campaign contributions.
"We know this will not benefit local traffic," said Hoyt LeCroy, a retired music teacher and school administrator who maintains an anti-Arc Web site from his Cherokee County home. "The only reason for the road is for these contributors to Barnes' campaign to benefit."
The governor has built a $13 million war chest for this year's re-election effort. Developers, highway contractors and many others who could profit from the construction of the Northern Arc populate his donor list.
And while Barnes' support for the road has generated a lot of money with which to court voters, it has simultaneously created a sizable pool of voters looking for an alternative candidate.
"I think it will become a partisan political issue" in the governor's race, said Web site architect LeCroy. "The Republicans would be very remiss in missing such a waste of taxpayers' money."
The cells of opposition to the road are growing and reaching out to each other. Several Gwinnett County homeowners attended the Forsyth County meeting and are forming their own task force.
"We are going to try to get every county, so we can put together a grass-roots effort," said Forsyth Task Force spokesman Anderson.
And environmental groups are reaching out to the homeowners to offer information, support and advice. A recent Sierra Club meeting gathered homeowners groups and environmental activists to chart an opposition strategy. More meetings are planned.
"There's a commitment from a broad range of groups to work together to stop this," said the Georgia Sierra Club's Bryan Hager, anti-sprawl campaign director. "This is a bad project, and we've got to work together to stop it."
Stopping major road projects in Georgia has never been easy. The DOT and the multimillion-dollar businesses it supports have historically wielded extraordinary political muscle in state government. But Hager and his allies are optimistic that a new day is dawning in the state's approach to transportation.
"This is an incredibly unpopular project, and ultimately the people will have their way," Hager said.
Map of Northern Arc: 