Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials announced that the pavement preservation project on Little River Road will resume Monday, Aug. 19. A thin pavement overlay will be applied to the entire length of the roadway between Sugarlands Visitor Center and the Townsend Wye, along with associated pull-offs and parking lots, and Elkmont Road leading to the campground. The project should be completed by Sept. 20, though work schedules are subject to revision as needed for inclement weather.
Visitors traveling on Little River Road should expect weekday, single-lane closures and traffic delays from Aug. 19 through Sept. 20. Single-lane, daytime and nighttime closures are permitted from 7 p.m. on Sundays through 5 p.m. on Fridays. The lane closures will be managed with flagging operations. Parking areas and pull-offs will be closed intermittently for pavement application. To better accommodate visitors during periods of high visitation, no lane closures will be allowed during weekends, holidays, or on Sunday, Sept. 15 due to anticipated high traffic associated with the annual Fall Rod Run in Pigeon Forge.
The Federal Highway Administration awarded the $6.5 million paving contract to GC Works, Inc. Road work will include the application of a thin lift overlay to preserve the life of the pavement. Potholes will be patched before application of the pavement overlay.
For more information about temporary road closures, please visit the park website atwww.nps.gov/grsm or follow SmokiesRoadsNPS on Twitter.
– National Park Service release
