Asheville corridor of Blue Ridge Parkway reopens after Helene
Managed by the National Park Service, the Parkway runs for 469 miles through the Appalachian Mountains between North Carolina and Virginia.
FILE: Blue Ridge Mountains bear brunt of North Carolina's historic flooding
Parts of North Carolina remain submerged following a catastrophic flooding event following Helene.
The National Park Service restored another portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway in western North Carolina on Wednesday, making access through the Asheville corridor possible once again.
Parts of the Parkway were destroyed when Hurricane Helene dropped nearly 30 inches of rain – about four months’ worth of rain – in three days and caused historic flash flooding throughout western North Carolina.
The recently reopened stretch of the Parkway runs about 11 miles from milepost 382.5 at U.S. 70 near the Folk Art Center to milepost 393.6 at N.C. Route 191 near the North Carolina Arboretum.
By reopening this section, other NPS sites will also reopen. This includes the Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Center near Asheville at milepost 384 and the Folk Art Center at milepost 384.
Trails within this stretch will also reopen. However, the NPS cautions visitors about potential hazards along the trails caused by storm damage, such as downed or leaning trees, washouts and landslides.
Including the stretch reopened on Wednesday, the NPS has restored more than 310 miles of the Parkway, according to Blue Ridge Parkway Superintendent Tracy Swartout.
Map showing initial closures along the Blue Ridge Parkway after Helene. (National Park Service / FOX Weather)
"Incident teams and contractors have been working on this section for over a month, with large numbers of damaged trees, vast amounts of tree debris in the roadway, and heavy equipment at work simultaneously throughout the corridor," Swartout said. "I am grateful for everyone involved in the effort to reopen this critical section of the Parkway."
Managed by the NPS, the Parkway runs for 469 miles through the Appalachian Mountains, with milepost 0 in Shenandoah National Park near Waynesboro, Virginia, and milepost 469 near Cherokee, North Carolina, in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.