Problems on the Blue Ridge Parkway?

[miss demeaner]

Parkway near Asheville closed indefinitely | Black Mountain News | blackmountainnews.com

ASHEVILLE — The Blue Ridge Parkway, in its second busiest month of the year, is closed from Milepost 375, a few miles north of the city, to Milepost 355 at N.C. 128/Mount Mitchell State Park.

“At Milepost 374, one mile north of Ox Creek Road, there’s an apparent slope failure below the roadway,” Steve Stinnett, parkway chief ranger, said. “There is a 2- to 4-inch-wide, 100-foot-long crack in the road, so we’re concerned about the road failing there. We’ll have to have it assessed by an engineer before we can reopen.”
Stinnett said the crack is located on the road’s center line just north of Tanbark Tunnel, and a ranger said he can see 6 feet down into the crack.
“The ground below the crack is completely saturated and is starting to collapse,” he said.
Stinnett said he is not sure when the crack occurred, but it was just noticed Friday.
“It’s most likely due to the heavy rains. Like everywhere else in Buncombe County, the soils are saturated and prone to things like this.”
The Blue Ridge Parkway, which spans 469 miles from Cherokee to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, is the most visited national park site in the country. In 2012, the parkway received 15.2 million visitors. The busiest month on the parkway is October, followed by July, according to Stinnett.
For more information, including road closures, visit Blue Ridge Parkway - Blue Ridge Parkway.

 

[DanH]

Well, that throws a wrench in a few people's motorcycle plans this summer....wow..

 

[Old Can Ride]

Thank you for the information. Hope to be there on August 8th.

See URL: HU Traveller Meeting North Carolina 2013 | Horizons Unlimited

Just need to figure someway around a little dislocated shoulder problem.

 

[670cc]

Bummer.

Not the first time the road's had problems. Thanks for passing it along.

Greg

 

[dduelin]

It is only closed for a 20 mile section of the nearly 470 length. I have seen it (2007, 2008?) where there were several parts of the BRP that were closed and detours are well marked. Since the BRP is closed to commercial traffic there are other roads nearby that people use to carry on the business of life in the region. Still, it's a bummer if plans were the ride the entire length this summer.

 

[2wheels4fun]

I was on that part of the road last Tuesday after the heavy rains earlier this month and did not notice it. FYI, around this area of the parkway was closed earlier this year for the same repairs.

 

[miss demeaner]

http://www.citizen-times.com/articl...Crack-Blue-Ridge-Parkway-grows?nclick_check=1


ASHEVILLE — All the rain soaking the Western North Carolina mountains may be good for growing plants and grass. But it’s also causing asphalt cracks to grow in the Blue Ridge Parkway.

“The difference in the crack between Tuesday and Wednesday was pretty dramatic,” parkway chief ranger Steve Stinnett said Thursday. “The northbound side of the parkway has dropped another couple of inches, and the crack has gotten wider.”
The crack was first noticed July 12 just north of Tanbark Ridge Tunnel at Milepost 374. Since then, the parkway has been closed to motor vehicle traffic from Milepost 376, a few miles north of Asheville, to Milepost 355 at N.C. 128 at Mount Mitchell State Park.
This section of road travels through the popular Craggy Gardens area and is the most direct route from Asheville to Mount Mitchell, the highest mountain peak in the Eastern United States. The 20-mile section, for now, is open to pedestrians and cyclists. A detour is in place to direct travelers from Asheville to Mount Mitchell via I-40 and U.S. 221 through Spruce Pine.
Stinnett said the crack, which sits on the road’s center line and was first noticed to be about 150 feet long and 4 inches wide, has widened a couple of inches and has lengthened in the direction of the tunnel, now at more than 200 feet. The northbound side of the parkway continues to drop lower. He said a crack on the shoulder of the road is now at least 8 inches wide and trees are visibly leaning more.
On Wednesday, engineers with the Federal Highway Administration assessed the crack and will return next week to do core drilling, Stinnett said.
The last major closure on the parkway was to repair slide damage at Milepost 358 near Mount Mitchell after a retaining wall failed. The parkway was mostly closed between Asheville and the state park for nearly seven months, reopening this past Memorial Day weekend.
That project cost about $3 million, said Mike Molling, parkway chief of maintenance and engineering. He said there is no way to know how costly or how long construction will take to repair the most recent crack until the drilling is done.

 

[Fuzzy]

Here is a motorcycle route around the problem

From Wayne Busch of America Rides Maps.

Of course you will have to suffer The Devils Whip and possibly get your picture taken by Blind Kenny.

 

[Old Can Ride]

The biggest problem I see with the Blue Ridge Parkway is that I am not on it. Sure hope I get to go in August.

 

[belinda k]

Some of the best roads are right off the parkway. Should not be a problem.

 

[Old Can Ride]

As close as you live to the Blue Ridge Park way you need to swing by the Horizons Unlimited rally, if for nothing else to meet some NC700's, and get some pictures.
Horizons Unlimited Travellers Meeting

Thursday Aug 8 - Sunday Aug 11, 2013 - Stecoah, North Carolina