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.

Waynesville is the county seat of Haywood County, North Carolina. It is the largest town in North Carolina west of Asheville. Waynesville is located about 30 miles (50 km) southwest of Asheville between the Great Smoky and Blue Ridge Mountains.