Wintergreen Emergency Egress Act

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, the community of Wintergreen, Virginia, is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, next to the popular Wintergreen Resort. It has a year-round population of 500 and a seasonal peak of almost 10,000. However, Wintergreen has only one road that leads in and out of the community and in an emergency situation, this is a major safety risk that could be catastrophic for Wintergreen's residents and visitors.

H.R. 6365 addresses this problem by allowing a 400-foot-long single- lane gravel road connecting Wintergreen to the Blue Ridge Parkway, providing a secondary exit route in the case of an emergency.

After completing the relevant environmental reviews, the National Park Service will be authorized to issue a right-of-way for the road.

This is a commonsense bill that will improve public safety and make minimal changes to the surrounding and natural area. I extend my gratitude to Representative McGuire and the Senators from Virginia for introducing this legislation to help Wintergreen's residents and visitors.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote in support of H.R.

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Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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