Hiking Trails Blogs

WATE TV in Knoxville is reporting that the National Park Service has issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) on the natural and cultural resources of the Smokies, thus clearing the way for reconstruction of Newfound Gap Road in the Great Smoky Mountains.

The Federal Highway Administration will now contract for the rehabilitation of the 14.5 miles of Newfound Gap Road from the park's entrance at Gatlinburg to the Tennessee - North Carolina state line at Newfound Gap.

The work will address the "deterioration of the pavement, safety concerns, and rehabilitation of the historic cut stone guardwalls, most of which were constructed about 70 years ago by the Civilian Conservation Corps," said park Superintendent Dale Ditmanson.

Officials say the work will be done in three phases over the next six to seven years.

It begins with the first two miles of the road which descends north from Newfound Gap into Tennessee. That phase is expected to begin in November.

Other than some resurfacing work done in the 1980s, no major improvements have been made to the road since it was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps nearly 70 years ago, said National Park Service spokeswoman Nancy Gray.

Officials are hoping to use a variety of strategies to keep traffic flowing on the road, which sees up to 9,000 vehicles per day during the peak season, she said. Temporary traffic lights, lane closures with flaggers and full road closures are among the options that might be used.


Jeff
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