While we've begun enjoying the beautiful spring weather, the Blue Ridge Parkway is still trying to recover from harsh winter storms. There are road closures still in place due to downed trees and debris in the roadway. For an updated look at these closures you can visit our dedicated Blue Ridge Parkway Road Conditions and Closures page on Virtual Blue Ridge, or call the Parkway Hotline at 828-298-0398.
National Park Service personnel have been working hard to ensure that the remaining cleanup is completed as quickly as possible. The NPS announced last week that they are also inviting bids from public small businesses to aid in their efforts. Read more about how to place a bid for cleanup work.
The National Park Service has released this schedule of proposed cleanup dates and anticipated openings.
| DATE |
PROJECT |
ANTICIPATED OPENING |
| April 12-16 |
MP 333.9 to 344 - Currently working in closed section. Working on over-story and hazard tree removal.
MP 344 to 355 - Work on storm damage removal and chipping debris. Issue is with working under traffic.
|
By the end of the week; the goal is to open the road from Little Switzerland to NC 80 (MP 333.9 to 344).
|
| April 19-23 |
MP 344 to 355 - Work on general cleanup and over-story and hazard tree removal. |
|
| April 26-30 |
MP 411 to 418 - Work on storm damage removal and chipping debris. |
Tentative completion for this section is May 3. |
| May 5-14 |
MP 305 to 317- Work on storm damage removal and chipping debris, hazard tree removal, and over-story cutting.
MP 317 to 330.9 - Work on general cleanup and over-story and hazard tree removal.
|
Tentative completion for this section is May 14. |
| By May 17 |
MP 305 to 355 will be completed, and MP 411 to 418 will be completed. This will complete the portion of storm cleanup where downed trees and debris have closed the road. |
|
After May 17 the only road closure will be from MP 399 to 408, which is due to the slide at MP 400.
Remaining over-story and debris cleanup will still need to be competed in the Pisgah, Highlands and Plateau Districts. The plan was to use temporary daily road closures in these areas where practical.
Find articles about the storm damage that occured along the Blue Ridge Parkway this past winter in the Virtual Blue Ridge News Library and also on the Blue Ridge Parkway Blog.
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