In 1906, North Carolina state geologist Joseph H. Pratt introduced the idea of a scenic toll road, the "Crest of the Blue Ridge Highway," through the Blue Ridge Mountains, from Marion, Virginia, to Tallulah, Georgia. Surveying was done in 1911, and the Appalachian Highway Company was charted in 1914. Construction began on the section of the road from Pineola to Altapass, in Mitchell County. The road was to be twenty-four feet wide, with a sand-clay or gravel surface.
Earlier this week, I went out and walked what I believe is part of the old "Crest of the Blue Ridge Highway." If you are traveling south on the Parkway, once you pass Chestoa View, start looking to your right. Every so often, you can catch a glimpse of a old road bed, up on the side of the mountain. The road bed continues on just past mile marker 324. It went around the mountain, but there were several downed trees and I had my six-year-old son with me.
The roadbed fit the description, about twenty feet in width. I could not see any sand, but there were quite a few pieces of mica-encrusted granite.
I’ve enclosed a couple of photographs showing the old road bed.
So am I right? Is this the remnants of the old "Crest of the Blue Ridge Highway"?
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