In Great Smoky Mountains National Park, an eight-mile section at the western end of Little River Road has been closed while work crews deal with a rockslide. Drivers operating larger vehicles must be aware of bridge weight limits on the detour.
Bob Miller, the Management Assistant at Great Smoky, explained that:
The slide is about two miles west of Metcalf Bottoms, so an eight-mile-long portion of Little River Road is currently closed between Metcalf Bottoms picnic area and Townsend Junction. Traffic that would normally transit that section is being diverted out of the park unto US 321 in Townsend, then north on US 321 to Lyon Springs Road in Wears Valley, where motorists can reenter the park on the Wear Cove Road to Metcalf Bottoms and continue east on Little River to Newfound Gap Road and on to either Gatlinburg or Cherokee Due to bridge weight limits, no large motor homes or buses can use this alternate route. These larger vehicles must continue on US 321 into Pigeon Forge.
Park managers inked a contract with Harrision Construction Division of APAC Atlantic, Inc to remove the rockslide, which includes some van-sized boulders, and repair the road. Heavy equipment is already on the scene and work crews have been working since 8:00 this morning. The repair crews plan to work from first light to sunset each day until the work is completed.
It will be necessary to scrape away loose material still clinging to the face of the slide to reduce the risk of additional slides. After the loose material has been dealt with, park managers
and a geotechnical engineering consultant will inspect to determine if it’s safe to reopen the road. Barring complications, such as the need to install rock bolts, it should be possible to reopen the road by Sunday evening.
This will not be the only road closure that motorists will have to deal with in the park this spring and summer. A major facilities improvement project will require the temporary closure of various roads needing resurfacing, or in some cases rebuilding. For a relevant map, visit this site.
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Is there an update on this road closure?
If you suspect that temporary road closures in a national park might affect your travel plans, it's a wise policy to directly contact the park(s) involved to make sure you've got the current information. You especially need to do this if your travel plans are tight. (As they say: "belt-rope-suspenders-safety pins.") In the case of Great Smoky, limited road and weather information is available on the Temporary Road and Facilities Closure page of the park website. Getting additional road information requires you to phone (865) 436-1200 and deal with voice mail and a recorded message unless you phone the park between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Eastern time and direct your questions to a person. As of early this morning, the recorded message said that road segment in question here -- Little River Road between the Townsend Junction (aka Townsend "Y") and Metcalf Bottoms -- remains closed at this time due to the rockslide. Highway 441 (Newfound Gap Rd), the park's main road, is also closed due to ice and snow.