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|terminus_b= near Clyde |counties=Swain, Jackson, Haywood }} The Great Smoky Mountains Expressway is a four-lane divided highway that serves as the main east-west corridor through Southwestern North Carolina; connecting the towns of Bryson City, Sylva and Waynesville to Interstate 40. Its establishment and funding was made possible by the Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS), designed to generate economic development in previously isolated areas, supplement the interstate system and provide access to areas within the region as well as to markets in the rest of the nation. ==Route description== The Great Smoky Mountains Expressway is a section of US 74; from US 19 (Alarka Road), near Bryson City, to I-40, near Clyde. The expressway also shares concurrences with three other major highways in the region: US 19, US 23 and US 441. The Expressway is broken into five segments: three freeway segments, where all major interchanges occur with speed limit, and two expressway grade segments that links the freeway gaps along the route at speed limit. The western freeway segment begins at the US 19 (Alarka Road) interchange, south of Bryson City, and ends after the US 441 interchange, south of Cherokee. This segment serves as a bypass south of Bryson City, Ela, Whittier and Cherokee. All five exits in this segment provide direct or indirect link to nearby US 19, which is the older highway that follows more closely to the banks of the Tuckasegee River. The Expressway itself is routed along the north slopes of the Alarka Mountains and briefly through the Qualla Boundary before crossing the Tuckasegee River, at the Swain-Jackson county line. A expressway grade segment separates western and central freeway segments; curving along the north banks of the Tuckasegee River, the routes main feature is short cement medium or cement wall that separate the lanes of traffic. The central freeway segment serves as a bypass north of both Dillsboro and Sylva. Routed along the south slopes of the Plott Balsams, the Expressway features the major interchange with US 23/US 441, where travelers can go south to Franklin and on to Atlanta, Georgia. A expressway grade segment separates the western and eastern freeway segments; featuring a short cement medium to separate the lanes of the traffic, it crosses the Jackson-Haywood county line at Balsam Gap, where it also connects to the Blue Ridge Parkway. The eastern freeway segment begins at the US 23 Business (Balsam Road) interchange, southwest of Waynesville, and ends at the I-40 interchange, north of Clyde. This segment serves as a bypass west of Waynesville, while also serving Lake Junaluska and Clyde. Haven been built in the mid-1960s, it is the oldest segment of the Expressway and features a short grassy medium with guardrails separating traffic lanes. There is also a quirk where westbound travelers can utilize Exit 107 and then re-emerge back onto the Expressway at the Exit 106 on-ramps; this should be noted because some travelers may see this as a short-cut and will typically drive faster exiting off and then back onto the Expressway. Traffic congestion is also more common in this segment of the Expressway. The Great Smoky Mountains Expressway also makes up part of Corridor K and Corridor A in the Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS). Corridor K connects I-75, in Cleveland, Tennessee, with US 23, in Dillsboro, North Carolina, overlapping of the Expressway. Corridor A connects I-285, in Sandy Springs, Georgia, to I-40, near Clyde, North Carolina, overlapping of the Expressway. ADHS provides additional funds, as authorized by the U.S. Congress, which has enabled the Expressway to be built and successive improvements along its route. The white-on-blue banner "Appalachian Highway" is used to mark the ADHS corridor. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Great Smoky Mountains Expressway」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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