ohiomike Posted January 17, 2013 Report Share Posted January 17, 2013 441 over the mountain......"From GSMNP- A landslide along Newfound Gap Road near mile marker 22 has caused an extended closure of the road...Great Smoky Mountains National Park has closed Newfound Gap Road (U.S. 441) due to a landslide which undercut the road near mile marker 22 between Collins Creeks and Webb Overlook at 9:40 am. The slide is estimated to be a 200 foot section of road extending 1000 foot down slope, but the full extent of the damage is not yet known. The closure is expected to be in effect for an extended period of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohiomike Posted January 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2013 The park is evaluating the remainder of the roadway, but anticipates Newfound Gap Road will be opened to visitors from the Gatlinburg Entrance in Tennessee to Newfound Gap Parking lot as soon as it is possible. The road will be open to Smokemont on the North Carolina side.Park staff are working with the Department of Federal Highway’s Construction and Geotechnical Services to evaluate the slide damage and to begin planning for repairs. Additional details will be released as the condition assessments are analyzed.As of midnight, Tuesday, January 15, the park received 8.56 inches of rain measured at Cherokee, 7.4 inches at Newfound Gap and 6.86 inches at LeConte. Rivers and streams have been running fast and high since Sunday when the rains began. There are currently multiple temporary road closures throughout the park due to high water. For the most current road closure reports, please call 865-436-1200 x 631 or follow SmokiesRoadsNPS on Twitter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imaposer Posted January 17, 2013 Report Share Posted January 17, 2013 Wow! And there is no easy alternate route either. Damn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReconRat Posted January 17, 2013 Report Share Posted January 17, 2013 Been there. That would be a rude surprise traveling in the middle of the night. geez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonik Posted January 17, 2013 Report Share Posted January 17, 2013 That ain't gonna be open until well into the summer I bet. It will kill business in Cherokee. That kills one of my routes to Maggie Valley, bummer. Can still get there but it's no fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coyote Posted January 17, 2013 Report Share Posted January 17, 2013 Hope it's back open by August..! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LINK Posted January 17, 2013 Report Share Posted January 17, 2013 That road is/was getting chewed up pretty bad in several spots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohiomike Posted January 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2013 Persistent rain loosened a boulder the size of a small house, dropping it on US-19 West near Coxes Creek Rd in Yancey County. Both lanes are currently closed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad324 Posted January 17, 2013 Report Share Posted January 17, 2013 damn thats crazy. Fairly certain that is the route I took from Fontana to get up to Pigeon Forge a couple summers back to meet up with a friend for lunch. If I am recalling correctly it was pretty rough and they were working on it back then too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wantahertzdonut Posted January 17, 2013 Report Share Posted January 17, 2013 I knew they were getting rain but had no idea they were getting 6-7" of it. I can't say I'm surprised about the landslides in that case.That ain't gonna be open until well into the summer I bet. It will kill business in Cherokee. That kills one of my routes to Maggie Valley, bummer. Can still get there but it's no fun.I didn't realize there was any business left in Cherokee to kill. When we went through there 2 years ago, that town was d e a d. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron505 Posted January 17, 2013 Report Share Posted January 17, 2013 I knew they were getting rain but had no idea they were getting 6-7" of it. I can't say I'm surprised about the landslides in that case.I didn't realize there was any business left in Cherokee to kill. When we went through there 2 years ago, that town was d e a d.The new Harrahs Casino in Cherokee just opened up last year I think. I know there was still construction crews there working when we were there in August. We just rode 441 from Maggie Valley to Gatlinburg in August too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohiomike Posted January 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2013 Just might be more washouts with conditions like this!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pokey Posted January 17, 2013 Report Share Posted January 17, 2013 Yikes!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LINK Posted January 18, 2013 Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fWch2IyD0Y&list=UUTNGUc1nTD8vnSXvC3akdhg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wantahertzdonut Posted January 22, 2013 Report Share Posted January 22, 2013 Could you see anything that guy was trying to show? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted May 7, 2013 Report Share Posted May 7, 2013 I certainly hope this is back open by August as well. Isn't this the same road that takes you to the split off to reach Clingman's Dome? I certainly hope I am mistaken as that was a fantastic ride regardless of some rough pavement. Tried to get to the Dome last year but we were staring down a thunderstorm. Not something I want to mess with on a bike in the mountains. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2talltim Posted May 7, 2013 Report Share Posted May 7, 2013 It's already openSent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.