Helene ripped chunks of the Blue Ridge Parkway away. Avoid it, rangers urged Saturday.
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Hurricane Helene Aftermath
Hurricane Helene swept across the Southeast, causing major flooding and destruction throughout North Carolina. Here is ongoing coverage from The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer about Hurricane Helene and the aftermath, particularly in Western North Carolina.
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The Blue Ridge Parkway remained closed in all of North Carolina and Virginia this weekend, after Hurricane Helene destroyed and hurled stretches of the road down the mountainside, rangers said Saturday.
Warning drivers to stay off the scenic route, the National Park Service released a photo of the road entirely eroded away near Gooch Gap milepost 336. That’s near Little Switzerland.
The parkway is closed for the foreseeable future, rangers said.
At least 250 National Park Service employees from 32 states and the District of Columbia are assisting Blue Ridge Parkway staff in assessing road damage.
“National Park Service assessment teams are still completing their initial inspections of the parkway, acquiring the data they will need to analyze the full impact of Hurricane Helene,” according to the National Park Service update.
“Based on what the teams have seen so far, significant, and in some cases catastrophic, damage has occurred along the parkway, particularly from milepost 280 to milepost 469.”
Knowing the full extent of damage could take weeks, along with a timeline and cost estimates for repairs, officials said.
“A projected reopening date of any section of the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina has not yet been established,” according to the announcement.
“In Virginia, damage assessments and the clearing of debris from the road are nearing completion, which will allow for a phased reopening in Virginia in the coming days to weeks,” according to the news release.
This story was originally published October 5, 2024 at 5:03 PM with the headline "Helene ripped chunks of the Blue Ridge Parkway away. Avoid it, rangers urged Saturday.."
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