Blue Ridge Parkway Rockslide Closes Parkway Near Craggy Gardens

A Blue Ridge Parkway rockslide has closed part of the parkway south of Craggy Gardens. The rockslide occurred on Saturday March 4, 2017 at milepost 365 near the Craggy Gardens Visitor Center. The parkway was open at the time but no injures occurred. Thirteen miles of the parkway is closed as a result of the rockslide. It occurred in one of the most vulnerable and unstable sections of the parkway. The section closed is north of Asheville between Bull Gap and Craggy Gardens. The length of time for the closure is unknown.

Blue Ridge Parkway Rockslide 3/4/17 Near Craggy Gardens

It was reported the rockslide brought down over 100 tons of rocks and boulders. Until the rocks can be removed and the damage to the road surface can be evaluated the amount time for the parkway road closure in this area will be unknown. Soon as the evaluation is completed by the engineers they will make public how long the closure is expected to last. The road to Mount Mitchell State Park remains open but can only be accessible from the north of the state park. Rockslides in the North Carolina mountains are common in winter due to the repeated freezing and thawing out.

Here is the link to a realtime road closure map for the Blue Ridge Parkway. It shows the location of the Blue Ridge Parkway rockslide that occurred on March 4, 2017 and the section of the parkway that is closed until repairs can be made.