I was very pleased, given
the horrible backlog of work needed to be done in our national Parks, that a 10-mile section of U.S. Highway 441 through
the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will undergo a $15 million, 18-month
repaving project. Now, I am a fan of the Smokies, having driven this very highway several times over the years.
Granted, an ugly yellow haze sometimes hangs over the National park from all the nearby pollution, but they have
largely fixed this problem over the years. How will a new highway affect pollution? Tough to say, but it is nice they
are making the improvement. The fact is the highway serves as a primary route to many of the park’s most popular
trailheads and scenic overlooks, including Clingmans Dome, and is a heavily traveled artery between the tourist hubs of
Cherokee, N.C., and Gatlinburg, TN. The section to be resurfaced extends from the Newfound Gap parking area on the
Tennessee-North Carolina state line south to the park’s Collins Creek picnic area. Work will begin March 1. The job is
expected to be done in October 2007. This section was last repaved in 1979 and is badly deteriorated, park officials
said. In addition to replacing old pavement, the project calls for more than two miles of steel-reinforced wooden
guardrail to be installed and repairs to 5,900 feet of stone curbing and 2,900 feet of culverts.