After two overnight accidents, including one in which a car carrier crashed into a wall and along an embankment, the National Park Service announced Oct. 5 that US 441/Newfound Gap Road will be closed nightly to keep commercial vehicles off the winding two-lane road. away in the Smokies.
The road that runs through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park between Tennessee and North Carolina is closed to all traffic every day from 10 p.m. to 7:30 a.m.
There is no timeline for when the overnight closures will end, but park officials are working on options to prevent commercial vehicles from using the road at night. That is the main priority, as commercial vehicles were already not allowed to use the route due to its winding nature and steep slopes.
Park officials will man checkpoints throughout the day to stop commercial vehicles, park management assistant Katie Liming told Knox News, while other traffic will be allowed through.
In just 24 hours after the road reopened on Oct. 2, the park stopped more than 45 large commercial vehicles, Liming said.
In an October 1 press release announcing the reopening of the highway through the park, which had been closed in the wake of Hurricane Helene, the park specifically noted: “While the NPS recognizes that major routes outside the park are currently closed, park roads closed. that are not structurally designed to support heavy vehicle traffic will be rejected.”
Some other roads in the park, plus some campgrounds and other areas, remain closed in the wake of Hurricane Helene. Closures include:
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Balsam Mountain, Cataloochee, Big Creek campgrounds and roads
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Foothills Parkway East near Cosby
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Lakeview Drive
The park regularly updates its website with the latest road closures.
Areena Aroradata and investigative journalist for Knox News, can be reached by email at areena.arora@knoxnews.com. Follow her on X @AreenaArora And on Instagram @areena_news.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: US 441 closed overnight, commercial traffic under pressure Smokies after Helene
