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Commercial Vehicles' Efforts To Drive Newfound Gap Road In Great Smoky Leads To Closure

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Compiled from NPS releases

Published Date

October 6, 2024

Attempts by commercial vehicles to use Newfound Gap Road through Great Smoky Mountains National Park have led to nighttime closures of the road/NPS

Attempts by commercial vehicles to cross Great Smoky Mountains National Park via the Newfound Gap Road, and accidents involving some that tried, have prompted the National Park Service to close the road overnight.

The road is never open to commercial traffic due to its narrowness and at times precipitous nature, but with some roads outside the park closed by damage from Tropical Storm Helene there have been efforts by commercial drivers to cross the park between Tennessee and North Carolina via the route.

As a result, the Park Service is temporarily closing US441/Newfound Gap Road from 10 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. ET each evening for the safety of all drivers. The park is turning away commercial vehicles at checkpoints during the day, but is not currently able to staff the checkpoints overnight.  

The park continues to see an influx of large commercial vehicles attempting to travel the road, a park release said.

"While the NPS recognizes that major routes outside the park are currently closed, Newfound Gap Road is not safe for large, commercial vehicles. Newfound Gap Road is a two-lane road with steep continuous grades and tight curves," the release said. "There are no truck lanes, runaway truck ramps, or places for a large commercial vehicle to slow down and pull over.

"In a 24-hour period, the park turned away more than 45 large commercial vehicles during the day, and overnight responded to two significant incidents. In one incident, a car hauler crashed into a wall and down an embankment, and in the other a semi-truck’s brakes caught on fire. While responding to these incidents, eight semi-trucks drove past emergency responders," the release added.

The park is working on options that prevent commercial vehicle travel without closing the road overnight.

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