Rock slide closes highway to popular NC mountain tourist town. What drivers should know
UPDATE: ON SUNDAY, APRIL 21, 2024, NCDOT REPORTED THAT U.S. 321 WAS REOPENED FROM BLACKBERRY ROAD TO GREEN HILL ROAD IN CALDWELL COUNTY, AFTER CONTRACT CREWS REMOVED UNSTABLE MATERIAL FROM THE HILLSIDE, STABILIZED SLOPES AND PERFORMED A SAFETY INSPECTION. .
A rock slide during severe storms closed a main highway to Blowing Rock, the popular tourist town in the N.C. mountains.
The slide closed both directions of U.S. 321 just after 7:30 p.m. Thursday, state highway officials said.
The highway was closed from Blackberry Road to the Green Park Inn in Blowing Rock due to “dangers of more falling rock” near the inn, the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook last week.
The N.C. Department of Transportation originally announced the highway would reopen by 11 p.m. Sunday, but more work is needed to stabilize the mountainside, according to an NCDOT news release Monday afternoon.
“Daily updates will follow regarding the reopening of the stretch of roadway” between Blackberry and Green Hill roads, officials said in the release.
Updates will be posted on Drive NC.gov, the state’s real-time map of road closures.
Fierce storms pummeled the mountains and other parts of the state last week, spawning an EF-1 tornado in the Wilkes County town of Wilkesboro and another one in the Rowan County community of Mount Ulla. No injuries were reported.
Police released photos of the rock slide, including one that shows a house above it.
A woman who answered the phone at the nearby Green Park Inn on Saturday said the slide has not affected business. The hotel has seen more bookings this month than last April, she said.
On Facebook, the police department in nearby Boone infused a little humor into the closing.
“Hey, at least it’s not leaf season,” Boone Police said in reference to long lines of motorists who drive mountain roads during fall. “Can you imagine??”
Drivers who typically take U.S. 321 to Blowing Rock from Gaston, Lincoln, Catawba and other counties to the south should consider the following alternate route, highway officials said:
Take N.C. 18 east to N.C. 16 North. Turn left onto U.S. 421 North into Boone and return to U.S. 321 toward Blocking Rock.
This story was originally published April 13, 2024 at 10:39 AM.