NPS: Great Smokies roads to partially close for $19 million federally funded repairs
ASHEVILLE — The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is undergoing a $19 million parkwide road rehabilitation project, and about to begin its priciest phase yet.
The federally funded project that is nearing completion focuses construction on Lakeview Drive, Newfound Gap Road, Heintooga Ridge Road and Balsam Mountain Campground Road in the Great Smokies.
In the expansive project, crews will install accessible parking areas, repair erosion at abatements, stabilize road structures and curbs, install pavement markings and repair guard rails, potholes and drainage structures.
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Next up on the list of work is Lakeview Drive, where about $15.7 million in repairs and rehabilitation began last year. The next phase of construction will begin April 8 and is expected to end in early July, according to a news release from the park.
Park visitors should expect the following closures:
Temporary single-lane closures throughout the project.
Closure of Noland Creek Bridge from April 15 to April 18. Parking will be available at Noland Creek trailhead during the closure.
Planned work includes final paving of the 6.5-mile road, rehabilitation of road shoulders and deck repair on the Noland Creek Bridge, according to the release. Crews will also work on paving and sidewalk construction in the Noland Creek trailhead parking area, including Architectural Barriers Act Accessibility Standard parking.
The park will also soon start construction near Gatlinburg on a two-mile section of U.S. 441 or Newfound Gap Road, the main road connecting Cherokee in North Carolina to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The project will include single-lane closures starting as early as April 15.
Over 13 million visitors stopped in the Smokies last year, which covers a half-million acres of rugged, mountainous terrain on the Western North Carolina-eastern Tennessee border. It contains more than 800 miles of hiking trails and is brimming with rivers, streams, waterfalls, picnic areas, campgrounds and lots of wildlife, including elk and black bears.
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How's the multi-million-dollar project being funded?
The $19 million repair project is being funded through the Great American Outdoors Act, the release said. The legislation, passed by Congress and signed into law by former President Donald Trump in 2020, established the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund.
The fund was created to address a backlog of deferred maintenance on federally managed public lands by providing $285 million for 450 projects in 38 states and Puerto Rico. Supported by revenue from oil, gas, coal, alternative or renewable energy development on federal land, GAOA provides the National Park Service with up to $1.3 billion per year for five years to make significant enhancements in national parks across the country.
“We greatly appreciate the support from the Great American Outdoors Act in getting this major project funded,” Cassius Cash, the park’s superintendent, said in the news release. “This has been one of our priority projects for years and will help ensure safe visitor and community access at one of the busiest road sections in the park.”
This isn't the first time the park received a large sum of funding from GAOA. NPS previously received $31 million in funding to rehabilitate the 17-mile section of Foothills West. That was completed in the Spring 2023, according to spokesperson Katie Liming.
GAOA funds are also being used by the U.S. Forest Service for the Roan Mountain site reconstruction and have supported “major renovation” work at Catawba Falls, an uber-popular waterfall in Pisgah National Forest recently announced to be reopening May 31.
Ryley Ober is the Public Safety Reporter for Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @ryleyober
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Great Smoky Mountains roads to partially close for $19 million repairs
