Date: August 17, 2009
Contact: Bob Miller, (865) 436-1207
Great Smoky Mountains Chief of Facility Management Alan Sumeriski has announced that a rockslide is expected keep Little River Road between the Elkmont Campground and the Metcalf Bottoms Picnic Area closed through Tuesday evening, August 18. The slide is located about two miles west of the Elkmont Campground junction.
Sumeriski said, "When the slide first occurred we had hoped our own road crew could make the road safe in a few hours, but a second slide soon occurred which left a large patch of unstable rock still clinging to the slope above the road." Park road crews worked through the weekend to stabilize the slope and remove fallen debris, carrying truckloads of debris away. However, large amounts of loose material continued to fall on the roadway, requiring the closure extension.
Motorists wishing to travel between the park’s Gatlinburg Entrance and Cades Cove or Townsend must detour to Pigeon Forge via U.S. 441 North and then U.S. 321 South into Townsend and back into the park on TN 73 to reach the park’s Laurel Creek Road to Cades Cove.
"Visitors can still reach Elkmont Campground by way of the Gatlinburg Entrance." Sumeriski said. "Metcalf Bottoms and the 8-miles of Little River Road from the Picnic Area to the Townsend junction are still accessible from U.S. 321 in Wears Valley via Line Springs Road or from the Townsend end. Due to bridge load restrictions, no vehicles larger than passenger vans are allowed to enter the park via Line Springs Road. Travel on the Newfound Gap Road (U.S. 441) between Cherokee, NC and Gatlinburg, TN is not affected"
Current Park Road information is available at (865) 436-1200.
