Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials announced that the Federal Highway Administration awarded two construction contracts to replace seven bridges and repair seven others across the park. The work will continue through January 19, 2022 and necessitates several single-lane closures and a few full road closures to safely accomplish the repairs.

Forge Creek Road in the Cades Cove area will be closed to all use beginning November 2, 2020 through May 27, 2021 to replace five bridges. Due to the complete removal of the bridges and the use of large equipment to perform repair work, the road will be closed to all users. There will be no access to Henry Whitehead Place or the Gregory Bald Trailhead during this time period.

Bridges in the following areas will be repaired throughout the contract period and visitors should expect single-lane closures in these areas: two bridges along the Gatlinburg Bypass; two bridges along Little River Road; two bridges in the Elkmont area, and one bridge in the Park Headquarters area. This winter, the park will announce dates for a month-long full closure of the road leading to Ramsey Cascades Trailhead and the road leading to Smoky Mountain Stables to fully replace bridges in those areas when the schedule is finalized.

Adams Contracting LLC of Lexington, KY was awarded a $3.5 million contract to replace the five bridges along Forge Creek Road. Work includes the replacement of timber decks, installation of steel beams, and building of new abutment walls and concrete approach slabs. Estes Brothers of Jonesville, VA was awarded a $1 million contract to replace two bridges and repair seven bridges in the other areas in the park. Repair work includes replacing damaged rails, repointing masonry, sealing cracks, and repairing deck joints.

For more information about road closures, please visit the park website at http://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/temproadclose.htm.

Lisa Hendy is an early riser, and when it comes to dealing with snow days in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park that’s a good thing.

As chief ranger, Hendy’s responsibilities are many — but one of them is deciding when, if and for how long to close the roads when the weather gets bad. “Really what it boils down to is a combination of the forecast and observations on the ground,” she said.

She rises each morning at 4 a.m., and when severe weather’s in the forecast, the early wakeup allows her to get a jump on the day’s planning. The park bases its closure decisions on forecasts from the National Weather Service in Morristown, Tennessee, as well as on-the-ground observations from employees. By 5:30 a.m., she talks with Facility Management Division Chief Alan Sumeriski and Deputy Superintendent Clay Jordan to discuss the situation.

In those early morning hours, rangers who live in the park, road crew staff and anyone else who has a firsthand look will text Sumeriski to let him know what they see. The more observations, the better — with its dramatic variation in topography and elevation, conditions can vary wildly within the park’s 816 square miles.

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Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials announced that the main access road into the Cataloochee area, Cove Creek Road, will be closed by the North Carolina Department of Transportation to conduct road repairs from February 10 through May 20, 2020.

The county roadway will be closed to stabilize a hillside just outside the park. The secondary access road into the area, Highway 284, will also be closed in the park throughout the duration of the construction project. Both roadways will be closed to all vehicles, cyclists, and horseback riders.

The secondary access road into the Cataloochee area, Highway 284, is a narrow, winding gravel road leading from the Big Creek area of the park into Cataloochee Valley. This gravel route is often seasonally closed during the winter months due to hazardous conditions and is not recommended for low clearance vehicles or trailers. This road will be closed throughout the closure period at the park boundary, approximately 2 miles north of Mt. Sterling Gap. During the closure, there will not be any potable water, restrooms, trash removal, or camping provided in the Cataloochee area.

Backcountry trails and campgrounds will remain open throughout the closure, but there will be no access to trailhead parking beyond the Big Creek area. Hikers and horseback riders should plan to start their itineraries from the Big Creek area or other areas across the park. The Cataloochee Campground, Group Camp, Horse Camp, and all services are expected to be operational by Memorial Day weekend.

For more information about the Cove Creek Road repair, please visit the North Carolina Department of Transportation website.

Specific information regarding daily closures in these work zones will be available on the Parkway’s Real Time Road Map, found at here.

Effected sections will close at approximately 7:00 a.m. each weekday and re-open daily by 5:00 p.m. EST from Monday, March 16 to Wednesday, April 8, 2015. The road will be open on the weekend. Those who normally commute on the Parkway on Monday through Friday may want to find alternate routes.

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