John "Thunder" Thornton purchased 224 acres of land on the south face of what is known locally as Jasper Mountain solely to build a road that would provide convenient access from Jasper Highlands to the town of Kimball, Tennessee, and Interstate 24. In the beginning of the Jasper Highlands project, during the transition period of dream becoming reality, Thunder knew that one of the keys to success would be the access road. And not just any road, but a great road to access all of Thornton's 8,600+ acres and 21+ miles of brow frontage on the Cumberland Plateau, a road built correctly, a road constructed to be user friendly, a road built to emphasize the unmatched scenery of the Plateau and the Tennessee River Valley, a road to be a source of pride for all property owners in Jasper Highlands. Due to the rugged topography features along the escarpment of the Plateau, building this road was an ambitious project to be sure, but now the end is in sight.

The objective of providing residents and property owners in Jasper Highlands convenient access to town, Interstate 24 and nearby Chattanooga, is now close to being realized. After years of engineering and analysis, followed by 7-day/week construction throughout the past several months, this road is now on-grade, contoured and finished to exact specifications, awaiting the final coat of binder and asphalt. The Marion County Highway Commissioner has approved all compaction requirements and the 6" of compressed limestone has been applied to prepare the road for Marion County's asphalt requirement. To date, 100% of the 22,000 feet of roadway to and throughout the Jasper Highlands project has been approved. Facts and figures of how this picturesque stretch of highway came to be:

• 69,700 tons of rock were blasted/relocated during the road building process
• During the blasting process 363 holes were drilled
• The base of the road was prepared with 6" of pug (compressed limestone), 2" of binder, 2" of topping, followed by the coat of asphalt.
• The road is 20' wide, not including 3' emergency lanes on each side
• 700' of culverts installed over a one-mile stretch
• 11 concrete catch basins strategically placed to direct water flow
• The gentle curves of the road meander through beautiful Tennessee deciduous forest and, as one nears the top, timeless sandstone bluffs
• The road ascends approximately 1,350 vertical feet, from the town of Kimball to the top of the Cumberland Plateau
• As one travels upward, extensive landscaping along the last 1500' of road, directly south of Pat's Summitt, has made possible magnificent, unobstructed mountain-valley-Tennessee River vistas.
• Along this 1500' portion of road, hundreds of tons of rock and soil were relocated to not only widen the road bed, but also to customize the angle of the road, so travelers could forever experience one of the great views of the southern USA, a stretch of road sure to be known as one of America's Scenic Highways