News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
The Cumberland Historic Byway could soon become a National Scenic Byway. The byway winds through Clay, Cumberland, Fentress, Overton and Pickett Counties.
Tennessee Scenic Roadways Coordinator Michael McClanahan said National Scenic Byways are a roads recognized for one or more intrinsic qualities: archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and scenic aspects.
“As a group, they have applied for federal funding through TDOT to get planning documents in line,” McClanahan said. “So now, they are trying to take the next step as a group and move the byway foward.”
McClanahan said local leaders created an application for the Cumberland Historic Byway to be reviewed by June 15th. TDOT hopes to know by the fall if the Cumberland Historic Byway will achieve National Scenic Byway status. Once a byway is considered national, the Federal Highway Administration will add the byway to their marketing program.
“Today, there are about 150 National Scenic Byways across the county that have some sort of intrinsic quality about them,” McClanahan said. “You can drive it and get a sense of the community and county. We are hoping to add the Cumberland Historic Byway to that.”
The National Scenic Byway Program funds ran dry in 2010. But McClanahan said there has been a rebirth in the program. The state of Tennessee gives local agencies around $2 million a year to advance byway projects.
The byway is shaped like a “W” and extends from the Cumberland Gap to the Cumberland River in the west.
