The National Park Service on Friday reopened eight miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway, from milepost 221.8 to 229.7, south of the North Carolina/Virginia state line.
Opening this road section signifies the completion of both a long-planned bridge maintenance project and a Helene recovery project due a landslide at milepost 224.9.
This eight-mile section restores continuous access to more than 20 miles of the park from the NC/VA state line to Doughton Park, including access to Doughton Park campground and The Bluffs restaurant.
The roadway’s opening is another in an initial round of recovery projects underway across the Parkway in North Carolina, to address multiple landslides that occurred on the Parkway as a result of Hurricane Helene. Once this first round of projects is complete, across the summer and into the fall of 2025, more than 50 miles of the Parkway will be restored for public use in various locations across western North Carolina.
The park is prioritizing restoring road access through a phased system to provide both public access to newly opened areas as soon as possible, and access to previously unreachable areas by contractors. Parkway construction activity is complex and highly technical, including factors such as remoteness, challenging terrain, and reduced construction seasons due to ice and winter weather at higher elevations.
For safety reasons, the park asks that people continue to be patient and respect remaining closures. Multiple seen and unseen hazards exist in closed areas, and crews and heavy equipment at work make areas unsafe. Visitors should also be aware that trail assessments are also still underway, and caution should be exercised as hikers may encounter hazards on trails such as landslides, tree debris, and washed-out sections or bridges.
Visitors should plan carefully for any trip along the Parkway and consult the park’s website for a wide variety of planning tools. The park’s website provides extensive information, including current road status, multiple regional maps, and other helpful information, about the park’s recovery process at go.nps.gov/Helene.
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