The Blue Ridge Parkway is currently closed from Craggy Gardens Picnic Area (Milepost 367.5) to Mt. Mitchell State Park (Milepost 355.5) due to a rockslide. The slide occurred early Saturday evening when the parkway was open to traffic. No one was injured as a result of the incident.
Preliminary site assessments have revealed that due to the size of debris in the roadway and potential for additional material sloughing off, the closure of this section will be in effect for several weeks. Parkway engineers are working with the Federal Highway Administration to develop a plan for removing the debris in such a way that protects the safety of visitors and parkway resources.
During the period of closure the parkway is closed to all traffic, including cyclist and hikers, due to the potential for additional rock fall and heavy equipment in the area during debris removal. Please respect this road closure for your safety and the safety of others. In addition to the above closure due to rock slide, NPS maintenance crews will be completing hazard tree removal from Ox Creek Road to Craggy Picnic Area which will result in day time closures of the parkway from Milepost 375.6 to 367.6. Access to Mount Mitchell from the north is still available.
Please remember that conditions on the parkway are constantly changing. Check the real time roadmap before leaving on your next Parkway trip https://www.nps.gov/maps/blri/road-closures/.
Jeff
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