Pigeon Forge-Gatlinburg Rock Slide Progress
The Smoky Mountains National Park Service has nearly cleaned up the second rock slide to occur between Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg Tennessee. Slight back-ups will occur both on north and south- bound Spur tonight between 7:00 and 8:00 pm while the detour is removed.
By Monday morning a local road company had cleared away all the fallen rock, dirt and trees from Friday’s slide on the southbound Pigeon Forge - Gatlinburg Spur. Park officials believe that the slope above the slide site is now stabilized, but as a precaution, jersey barriers will funnel south-bound traffic into the left lane away from the rock face for several weeks to allow time for any remaining material to come down.
Tonight between 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. workers from the Park, TDOT, a local road company, and Pigeon Forge will be working together to remove all the cones, barriers and signs that were installed last Friday to detour all the south-bound traffic towards Gatlinburg via the Huskey Grove Road overpass. When they finish tonight, traffic flow will be exactly the same as it was prior to the Friday slide. Tonight’s work was scheduled at 7:00 p.m. to avoid heavier commuter and school-related traffic, but minor delays are likely so motorists are advised to plan around that work period or take an alternate route to avoid the Spur.
Park Starts Roadside Vegetation Gatlinburg Bypass and Spur
Great Smoky Mountains National Park Chief of Facilities, Alan Sumeriski, announced today that motorists can expect single lane closures on the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge Spur and on the Gatlinburg Bypass beginning November 2 and extending through mid-January. No work will be allowed from noon on Fridays to Monday mornings or on holidays or the week between Christmas and New Year’s.
A contractor will utilize single lane closures along the Spur to allow workers to clear the brush along the shoulders of the road and to cut back overhanging branches, to increse the clearance for tractor trailers and large RV’s. On the two-way Gatlinburg Bypass flaggers will control traffic flow around one-lane closures. “We also plan to begin on the Bypass rather than the Spur to avoid impacts motorists who are only travelling to Gatlinburg and back without going into the Park. By the time the Bypass is completed, traffic should taper off even more than it will earlier in November.
“It’s all about safety.” Sumeriski said, “Brush at the edges of the roadway limits a driver’s sight distance around the road’s tight curves, reducing his or her reaction time to stalled traffic or obstructions. Overhanging limbs either strike the tops of higher vehicles, or cause their drivers to edge away from the road’s edge, sometimes creating a hazard as they crowd the vehicles in the adjoining lane.”
Bob Miller, Management Assistant
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
(865) 436-1207
