JULY 29, 2010 ISSUE
Question Around the Office
When Will the Parkway Be Cleared Between Blowing Rock and Deep Gap?
A reader this week submitted a Question Around the Office via email that asked, “Is the National Park Service going to clean up any of the debris from the ice storm that is along the [Blue Ridge] Parkway between Blowing Rock and Deep Gap?
We called Blue Ridge Parkway Chief of Maintenance and Engineering Michael Molling to find out.
According to Molling, “Cleanup has been an ongoing process ever since the ice storms. We are aware [of the debris that needs to be cleaned up in that area], and we understand that it doesn’t look like it should.”
The good news is that Molling said a private contractor—one of two currently working to beautify the Parkway—will arrive at that section of the scenic roadway next week and conduct corridor trimming, storm debris clean up and hazard tree removal between Milepost 275 and Milepost 290, the area in question. Once the debris is collected and the corridor trimmed, Molling said the contractor would catch up on mowing around the roadway between Blowing Rock and Deep Gap.
What’s more, said Molling, the Parkway is in the process of hiring a third private contractor to conduct corridor trimming, storm debris clean up and hazard tree removal along the entire 469-mile stretch of America’s most visited National Park. That work will be ongoing during the next two months, said Molling, in preparation for the Blue Ridge Parkway’s 75th anniversary event planned for Friday and Saturday, September 10 and 11, on the Parkway’s North Carolina-Virginia border. “We’re trying to get everything spiffed up for those dates,” added Molling.
“The reason we’ve been so late in getting to some of this is because there is so much of it to do,” explained Molling. “We [cleaned and repaired] the worst damaged areas first and have been working our way methodically through the other damaged areas. On top of that, we were delayed in starting the [cleanup] process by the harsh winter. It’s taking a while to get caught up.”
Molling said a temporary road closure is coming to the Parkway between Milepost 288 and Milepost 291, or from Aho Gap to Bamboo Gap, starting either Tuesday or Wednesday, August 3 or 4, and lasting until Friday, August 6. A private contractor will utilize the road closure to clean up storm debris and trim the corridor from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. each day. “The closure will be for three days, and we’re closing the entire road between those times so the contractor can complete the work as quickly as possible,” explained Molling. “Otherwise, if we didn’t do a closure, it would take twice as long and be twice as expensive.”
Community Interest
News & Notes
Events
Arts & Entertainment
BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
