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Date: November 2, 2009
Contact: Bob Miller, (865) 436-1207

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Chief of Facilities, Alan Sumeriski, announced today that motorists can expect single lane closures on the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge Spur and on the Gatlinburg Bypass beginning November 2 and extending through mid-January. No work will be allowed from noon on Fridays to Monday mornings or on holidays or the week between Christmas and New Year’s.

A contractor will utilize single lane closures along the Spur to allow workers to clear the brush along the shoulders of the road and to cut back overhanging branches, to increase the clearance for tractor trailers and large RV’s. On the two-way Gatlinburg Bypass flaggers will control traffic flow around one-lane closures.

"We scheduled the work so as to get it done between the heavy October leaf season traffic and the worst of the winter weather." Sumeriski said. "We also plan to begin on the Bypass rather than the Spur to avoid impacts motorists who are only traveling to Gatlinburg and back without going into the Park. By the time the Bypass is completed, traffic should taper off even more than it will have by early November."

"It’s all about safety." Sumeriski said, "Brush at the edges of the roadway limits a driver’s sight distance around the road’s tight curves, reducing his or her reaction time to stalled traffic or obstructions. Overhanging limbs either strike the tops of higher vehicles, or cause their drivers to edge away from the road’s edge, sometimes creating a hazard as they crowd the vehicles in the adjoining lane."