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[Midnight Rider]

The road from Cherokee, NC to Gatlinburg, TN, which is US Hwy 441 is back open, a full month earlier than anticipated.   

For those who did not know, a large section of the Hwy slid off the mountain on the TN side earlier this year due to heavy rainfall amounts.  It was a mess.

For those who have never ridden that road, I would highly recommend it for a nice experience through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park....not a technically challenging road, but one with some nice views, creekside sections, and of course, Mount LeConte.

[porthole]

441 - back in the day

[ultrarider123]

Terry, that's either a WHOOPEE it's open or an OH CRAP! it's open.

.....depending on how your luck goes at Harrah's....

[FLSTFI Dave]

Well I am glad it is open, makes a nice ride mid week.  Never on a Week end, to much traffic

[North Georgia Hawg]

This is great news! Will have to plan a trip up there soon.

[ultrarider123]

Here's the headline from yesterday on the WBIR website.  The construction company received half million for finishing 30 days early.

Newfound Gap Rd. reopened a month ahead of schedule
 
Newfound Gap Road (U.S. 441) through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is reopening a month ahead of schedule.
A huge landslide took out the road near mile marker 22 between Collins Creek and Webb Overlook on January 16.  Crews have been working ever since to repair the damage and reopen the road, which is the quickest route from Gatlinburg to Cherokee.
Park officials expected the road to reopen by May 15, but it was back open by 10 am on April 15. Crews from contractor Phillips-Jordan worked 24 hours a day in the last few weeks, and finished the paving and striping of the road over the weekend.
Workers moved 50,000 cubic yards of crushed rocks to better support the road surface, and added drainage, to hopefully prevent this from happening in the future.
The Park Service and the Eastern Band of the Cherokee offered the contractor $18,000 per day for each day of completion prior to May 15, with a maximum of $500,000.
Officials are still calculating the total costs, but it was close to $5 million dollars.

[1sharprdkg]

 :2vrolijk_21:Great news! Good info!