LINVILLE FALLS, N.C. (WGHP) – If you are planning a spring or summer excursion along the Blue Ridge Parkway, you will find a detour if you travel west of Boone.
The National Park Service said in a release today that park managers had discovered problems with the roadway near Linville Falls and Deep Gap that will require the parkway to be closed beginning April 11 and continuing into September.
Engineers cited significant settlement, cracking and rockfall on portions that could be hazardous to visitors. The release said that such issues with mountain roads are common over time and that, because of the historic nature of the road, the repairs can be complex.
The park service said that contractors on April 11 would begin to install rock and soil anchors, slope netting at cut slopes, reconstruct fill slope and address needed paving repairs. September is the scheduled completion.
Blue Ridge Parkway (Getty Images) 
People take in the view of the Blue Ridge Mountains from atop Grandfather Mountain near Linville, N.C., Monday, Oct. 18, 2021, as autumn arrives in the highlands. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome) 
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Photo of bull elk crossing the road on Heintooga Spur Road, just off the Parkway near milepost 458.2 (credit: Harold Blackwood/Blue Ridge Parkway) 
Blue Ridge Parkway (David Weatherly/FOX8) 
Photo: David Weatherly (WGHP) 
Photo: David Weatherly (WGHP) 
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Sunset over Blue Ridge Parkway Oct 7 2013 
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Blue Ridge Parkway (Twitter @NCDiDi) 
Blue Ridge Parkway (Twitter @NCDiDi) 
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Blue Ridge Parkway 
Blue Ridge Parkway NC Side 
Blue Ridge Parkway NC Side 
Blue Ridge Parkway NC Side 
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Blue Ridge Parkway – Credit: Joanie Spivey (July 29) 
A section of stonework along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Alleghany County, North Carolina. (WGHP Photo)
The parkway service’s release said that travelers during that time will find:
- A full parkway closure from milepost 276.4 at U.S. 421 to milepost 280.9 at Old U.S. 421 (near Deep Gap), with detour information on variable message boards around the project.
- Delays around milepost 323 (south of Linville Falls) because of a single-lane closure managed with a temporary traffic light.
The Blue Ridge Parkway extends 469 miles through North Carolina and Virginia, and the service covers 526 miles of paved road, 32 miles of unpaved road, 26 tunnels, 180 bridges, culverts and a network of road-related infrastructure, the release said.
