TVA development to by-pass Resaca battlefield.
December 23, 2004 - Conversations between officials at TVA and members of the Friends of Resaca over the past two weeks have indicated that the Resaca battlefield would be by-passed in favor of a more easterly route for their proposed powerline expansion project.
These conversations seem to be validated by recent media attention and an update to the map on the TVA web site. See the latest map of the powerline route and the battlefield area here. (NOTE: Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view the map.) Please note that the "main" map on the TVA site has NOT been updated. However, all the secondary detailed maps have been revised and do reflect the fact that a specific route has been chosen.
The only possible concern is the potential impact of the route to the viewshead of the Chitwood Farm area. It might be possible to see the powerlines if you look eastward from the farm. This was an important, but secondary, concern for the Friends of Resaca. The primary objective has always been to keep the development off the battlefield entirely. This final route proposal by TVA seems to do that.
Our thanks obviously go out to the hundreds and hundreds of concerned persons from all over the world that expressed their thoughts to TVA in the past few months. We believe this had a positive impact and motivated TVA to work with the Friends of Resaca, allowing us to educate them as to the historic importance of the property. We believe TVA took all this into account. TVA officials commented privately to us on several occassions about the volume of respones they were receiving on this matter. Thank you all again!
You may wish to contact TVA to express appreciation for their routing choice. You can do so via phone or email at...
Email TVA at newtransline@tva.com. Or contact Steve Pitt with the TVA at 1-800-362-4355.