From WBIR,
A portion of the "Tail of the Dragon," a popular ride for motorcyclists, will be closed through at least through holiday weekend while workers clean up a rockslide.
The slide happened overnight on Hwy. 129 at the 9.5 milemarker, near Calderwood Dam and the Powerhouse.
The road is now closed from the 11.5 to the 8.1 milemarker.
Drivers of non-commercial vehicles will be allowed to travel the eight-mile stretch from North Carolina into Tennessee up to the overlook near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The section from just south of the Foothills Parkway to the site of the rockslide will remain closed as crews work to remove debris.
TDOT workers will remove the slide material, which is a wedge of debris more than 60 feet high and about 125 feet long. It covers about 14 feet of the paved roadway. That cleanup is expected to be finished early next week.
Engineers will review the slope to determine whether a long-term solution is needed.
Maintenance crews located at the closure points have maps of detour routes to be distributed to motorists.
Message boards are in place on all connector routes, notifying motorists of the closure and restricting commercial vehicles on The Dragon.