Nearly a month after Helene, small section of Blue Ridge Parkway reopens in NC
.jpeg "The Blue Ridge Parkway at milepost 401, south of Bent Creek Gap.")
A section of the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina reopened Wednesday morning for the first time since the remnants of Hurricane Helene slammed the region, but it will be a long time before the entire road is open in the state.
The National Park Service is again allowing drivers to use the parkway between milepost 285.5 at Bamboo Gap and milepost 305 near Beacon Heights in the Blowing Rock area. That 20-mile section is one of several that local residents rely on to get to and from their homes.
“We realize how critical the Parkway is for our region,” Blue Ridge Parkway Superintendent Tracy Swartout said in a written statement. “While much work remains, we are prioritizing our efforts in less-damaged areas that have the most impact for community connectivity, and that we are able to reopen safely.”
Swartout said the park service expects to soon open additional sections of the parkway that serve adjoining communities.
The park service says tens of thousands of trees fell across the parkway and that heavy rain caused nearly three dozen rock and mud slides in North Carolina. The slides occurred above and below the road and severely damaged or swept away the roadbed in numerous places.
Damage along Blue Ridge Parkway from Helene
The worst damage appears to be in a 189-mile stretch from near Grandfather Mountain to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, south of Blowing Rock. The damage includes places where buildings, such as the Linville Falls Visitor Center, were destroyed.
The park service says it has found no significant damage to the Linn Cove Viaduct, which carries the road along the edge of Grandfather Mountain.
The park service initially closed all 469 miles of the parkway after Helene, between Shenandoah National Park in Virginia and Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina. The road was less damaged in Virginia, and the Park Service was able to reopen nearly 200 miles of it there on Oct. 11.
Moses Cone Manor House lot, trails also reopen
Also reopening Wednesday is the Moses Cone Manor House parking lot and carriage trails near Blowing Rock, though the interior of the house and the carriage barn restrooms remain closed.
The remnants of Hurricane Helene brought historic wind and rain to Western North Carolina on Sept. 26 and 27. More than 100 Blue Ridge Parkway employees have been working on the road since Sept. 30. The park service says they’ve received help from more than 275 workers from 64 national parks and park offices in 37 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
This story was originally published October 23, 2024 at 10:09 AM with the headline "Nearly a month after Helene, small section of Blue Ridge Parkway reopens in NC."
