The rockslide happened near the King Branch intersection, which has been the endpoint of a previous detour due to the previous rockslide that occurred on January 25th.
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park plans to run both directions of traffic on the northbound side until they can get the southbound side cleaned up.
However, that detour is not yet in place, leaving southbound traffic at a standstill.
Northbound traffic is still moving.
The previous rockslide is expected to take more than a month to clean up. There's no word at this point as to how long it will take to clean up the new rockslide.
Today's nasty weather is also causing road problems within the main part of the park. As a result of snow, ice and downed trees, several roads in the park have been closed, including; Newfound Gap Road (US-441) and the Cades Cove Loop Road. For a full list of closures, please click here.
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Update: Maryville Daily Times is reporting 80 MPH winds were recorded at the Cove Mountain Air Quality Station earlier today. Additionally, crews were called off from clearing Newfound Gap on U.S. 441, and crews were not allowed to go into Cades Cove due to the danger from the high winds.
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By the way, does anyone know why the national park owns that strip of land that includes the Spur road?
Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com
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