A section of North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Parkway reopened Wednesday morning for the first time since the remnants of Hurricane Helene devastated the region, but it will be a long time before the entire road in the state is open.
The National Park Service is once 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 stretch is one of many that local residents rely on to get to and from their homes.
“We recognize how critical the Parkway is to 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 on community connectivity and that we can reopen safely.”
Swartout said the park service expects to soon open additional sections of the parkway that serve adjacent communities.
The park service says tens of thousands of trees fell across the parkway and heavy rains caused nearly three dozen rock and mud slides in North Carolina. The slides took place above and below the road and seriously damaged or wiped away the roadbed in many places.
Damage along Blue Ridge Parkway from Helene
The greatest damage appears to occur over a distance of 200 miles from 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 no significant damage was found 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. In Virginia, the road was less damaged and the Park Service was able to reopen nearly 200 miles of it on October 11.
Moses Cone Manor House lot, trails also reopening
The Moses Cone Manor House parking lot and carriage paths near Blowing Rock will also reopen Wednesday, although the interior of the house and carriage barn restrooms will remain closed.
The remnants of Hurricane Helene brought historic winds and rain to Western North Carolina on September 26 and 27. More than a hundred Blue Ridge Parkway employees have been working on the road since September 30. The park service says they have received help from more people. than 275 employees from 64 national parks and park offices in 37 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
