Title: Oral History Interview with Stan Hyatt, November 30, 2000. Interview K-0249.
Identifier: K-0249
Interviewer: Amberg, Rob
Interviewee: Hyatt, Stan
Subjects: Madison County (N.C.)    Express highways--North Carolina    Buncombe County (N.C.)--Social life and customs    Ohio University--Students    Highway engineers--North Carolina--History--20th century    Hyatt, Stan    
Extent: 02:20:51
Abstract:  Although Stan Hyatt, the North Carolina Department of Transportation's resident engineer on the I-26 project, has helped open Madison County to new residents and industry, he is worried about the effect of opening the area to change. Nostalgia and balance dominate this interview: Hyatt remembers growing up in idyllic rural Madison County, but while he misses the past, he sees the corridor construction as a painful but necessary cure for the county's economic ills. He hopes that the environmental damage I-26 brings will not alter too drastically the environment tourists will drive there to see. This interview, like many of Rob Amberg's interviews, is more of a conversation than a question-and-answer session. Later in the interview, however, Hyatt speaks at length about the I-26 project in Madison County. Researchers interested in this subject should look to this interview for essential background on the project as well as construction details.