Great Smoky Mountains National Park Public Meeting on Road Construction Projects

It's not your imagination. For years the Great Smoky Mountains national park roadways have been in a constant state of much needed repair, increasing the comfort and improving the safety of everyone using these roads and parking areas stretching from the complete overhaul of the Cades Cove Loop Road and the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, to the to the major rebuilding of Newfound Gap Road after this year's devastating landslide.

What you may not realize it the added bonus of the reduced costs to repair park and visitor vehicles that traverse these roads now that they are in far better condition as well as the reduced environmental impact of these improved parking areas and roadways. There is also a significant economic benefit to the area between the contractors and their employees.

The stimulus help pay for many of the larger projects including the incomplete section of the Foothill Parkway between Wears Valley and Walland which is still ongoing and closed to all vehicles, bikers and hikers, the Sinks Parking Area and the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail.

Further work such as drainage system improvements, roadway resurfacing, stone-wall masonry rehabilitation, and slope stabilization is still being done and in the planning stages for Newfound Gap Road US441 and the Gatlinburg Bypass.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials are inviting the public today and tomorrow to meetings n order to give an update on current construction and future planed work on these key roadways.

The first meeting will take place today Monday, August 5 from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm at the Sugarlands Visitor Center Training Room, about 2 miles from the Gatlinburg, Tennessee park entrance.

The second meeting takes place tomorrow Tuesday, August 6 from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm at the Oconaluftee Administrative Building which was the old visitor center near the Cherokee, North Carolina entrance.

Public questions and input is very helpful as demonstrated by how smoothly the Cades Cove Loop Road repaving job was accomplished with the least impact possible to park visitors and local business that depend on them.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Road Conditions

Virtually Every Road in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is Closed

First it was flooding that closed many key roads in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, now a winter storm dumped enough snow to create another headache, virtually every road is closed due to snow and ice including the Foothills Parkway West and East and the Gatlinburg Bypass connecting the Sugarlands to the Spur.

Crews are working on plowing and sanding roads right now. They will also be cleaning up any of the additional trees, branches and roads that may have fallen into the roadways. When the melting starts, even more debris could fall into the roadway making driving treacherous.

With so much water, there have been landslides, one of which washed out a 200 foot section of roadway, and rock slides and trees that may still be in danger of falling so when the park access opens up, use extreme caution when hiking as some of these dangers may not be immediately apparent.

Links: Great Smoky Mountain national park road conditions

A few roads in the Great Smoky Mountains Nat Park

A few roads just opened in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park but a still considered treacherous.

The newly opened roads are:

Little River Road from the Sugarlands to the Townsend Wye.

Laurel Creek Road to Tremont and Cades Cove

The Spur from Gatlinburg to Pigeon Forge

Cades Cove Loop Road

The Gatlinburg Bypass section of the Spur

Entrance Road to Cosby

STAY ALERT AND DRIVE SLOW!

Few roads reopen in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park after winter storm

Most major roads such as the Newfound Gap Road - US 441 in the Great Smoky Mountains national park still remain closed due to snow and ice, but a few roads have been opened to traffic.

The Spur connecting Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge still remains open and now the Gatlinburg bypass is also open to drivers.

On the West end of the national park on the Tennessee side divers can now drive from Townsend to Cades Cove and around the 11 mile loop road as Laurel Creek Road between the Townsend Wye and the Cades Cove loop road as well as the Cades Cove Loop Road have just been reopened.

Tremont Road just west of the Wye off of Laurel Creek Road and the Western Foothills Parkway just outside Townsend has also opened.

As we learn of more roads that open in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park we will post updated reports.

Most roads closed in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park due to winter storm

Old man winter blew in hard and with high elevations in the Great Smoky Mountains National park measuring as mush as 17 inches of new snow accumulation the major roads in the national park are all closed including Newfound Gap Road (us 441) a major through road connecting Cherokee North Carolina and Gatlinburg Tennessee.

The following roads are closed due to snow and ice the Great Smoky Mountains National Park:

• Newfound Gap Road (US 441) TN to NC
• Foothills Parkway East in Cocke County Cosby / Newport area
• Foothills Parkway West in Blount County west of Townsend
• Gatlinburg Bypass in TN
• Little River Road in TN
• Laurel Creek Road in TN west of the Tremont Road Junction
• Cades Cove Loop Road in TN
• Greenbrier Road TN
• Cataloochee Entrance Road NC
• Old Route 284 (Big Creek to Cataloochee)

Even though there was a minor accident on the spur connecting Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg Tennessee as of now the road remains open. Driver who wish to use the Spur are cautioned that there are still slushy spots even though the road has been heavily salted and drivers should use extreme caution.

Best advice when there is accumulation on the roads is to only drive when absolutely necessary.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Closes Newfound Gap Road, Laurel Creek Road and the Gatlinburg Bypass

The park service closed major roads in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park due to ice and snow including Newfound Gap Road (441) from Gatlinburg Tennessee to Cherokee North Carolina, Laurel Creek Road in Tennessee ending up in Cades Cove Tennessee as well as the Gatlinburg Bypass which connects Gatlinburg Tennessee and Pigeon Forge TN.

The weather in the Smoky Mountains is expected to remain below freezing for the balance of the day and a winter storm warning remains in effect until 4:00 pm today. Tomorrows predicted high of 34 degrees will probably not be enough to melt any of the Ice and snow that has already accumulated and today's predicted snow may keep these roads closed for days.