UPDATE: Great Smoky Mountains National Park road back open after rockslide

Sarah Riley, Knoxville News Sentinel
Updated

UPDATE: U.S. Highway 441/Newfound Gap Road is now open again. The rockslide has been cleared.

Here is the original story:

U.S. Highway 441/Newfound Gap Road is temporarily closed in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park because of a rockslide. The road connects Gatlinburg, Tennessee, to Cherokee, North Carolina.

There is no timeline for the road to open, according to national park spokesperson Emily Davis. Crews from the national park are onsite and waiting for additional equipment.

Rockslides are not uncommon in the Great Smoky Mountains because of the makeup of the rock and the amount of rainfall the region receives.

A rockslide closes U.S. Highway 441/Newfound Gap Road in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on June 26, 2023.
A rockslide closes U.S. Highway 441/Newfound Gap Road in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on June 26, 2023.

This alert will be updated when more information is released.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Great Smoky Mountains National Park road back open after rockslide