Contractor to Begin Road Stabilization Project on Newfound Gap Road

Great Smoky Mountains National Park will begin work on a road stabilization project to repair a slide area in North Carolina beginning Monday, January 5, through Wednesday, May 14, along Newfound Gap Road (NFG) approximately 1 mile south of NFG parking area, just south of the Deep Creek Trailhead.

Park staff and Federal Highway Administration engineers recently documented the slide approximately 50 feet below the road corridor. Crews will reinforce the slope to stabilize the road embankment and to prevent slope failure or erosion along the road shoulder. The restoration work will include retaining wall construction, road reconstruction, stone masonry guardwall construction, guardrail placement, shoulder reconditioning, installation of culverts and inlets, and site restoration.

Traffic lanes will be temporarily shifted onto the road shoulder throughout the duration of the project to maintain two-way traffic; however, single lane closures will be required intermittently primarily during the construction of the temporary lane. The parking area adjacent to this slide area will be closed, but the small pulloff for the Deep Creek trailhead will remain open.

Phillips and Jordan, Inc. was awarded the contract for the project through a competitive bid process. The primary geotechnical subcontractor is Goettle, Inc. Contractors are authorized to conduct operations 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

This new slide is not related to the slide that took place during the heavy rains of last January.

For more information about road conditions, please visit the park’s website or call the park’s Road and Weather Information Line at 865-436-1200.



Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com