Another holiday weekend and an important travel route through the mountains remains blocked from a massive rock slide that happened back in October on I 40 in the mountains of North Carolina. The rock slide blocks all 4 lanes of I 40 at mile marker 2.6 near the Tennessee border and will take months to clear. Detours around the slide area have been established but some are not taking the official detour and cutting through Smoky Mountain National Park on 441 which can be a treacherous route in the winter.
“A lot of people are looking at their GPS and their road maps, and they say, ‘441 looks like a good alternative,’” Miller said. “Fortunately, at this time of year, traffic is still relatively low compared to summer.”
Winter weather ahead will make U.S. 441, which climbs to 5,048 feet in elevation, less dependable as a detour.
“It can be 12 to 15 degrees colder at the top,” Miller said. “We don’t salt the roads like a county would. We’re a national park, so we’re trying to protect the water quality.”
When the road closes, rangers at the visitors center in Cherokee will have to direct travelers back to the detour on U.S. 25/70 through Hot Springs to Newport, Tenn., or back to Asheville up Interstate 26 to Johnson City, Tenn., and then to Interstate 81.
Asheville Citizens Time has about the best coverage and most up to date information on the slide.
