The Blue Ridge Parkway has completed significant repairs and reopened numerous sections across North Carolina and Virginia, restoring public access in time for the peak fall tourism season. National Park Service officials announced this week that these advancements are part of ongoing efforts to rebuild and recover following Hurricane Helene, with a focus on keeping parks open and accessible. Notably, repairs at milepost 320.2 near Linville Falls have been completed, and visitors can now drive uninterrupted from James River, Milepost 63.7 in Virginia, to Little Switzerland, near milepost 344, in North Carolina.
According to Deputy Secretary of the Interior Kate MacGregor, the Interior Department has "ensured a strong and speedy rebuilding process" after Hurricane Helene. Of the 60 slide repairs required along the Parkway after the hurricane, 48 are now complete, with work underway on the final 12. This progress has restored access to 458 of the Parkway’s 469 miles, with the remaining 11 miles still under repair. Funding for these recovery efforts comes from Disaster Supplemental funding in the American Relief Act, alongside the conclusion of two historic Great American Outdoors Act Legacy Restoration Fund projects.
Superintendent Tracy Swartout highlighted the importance of these openings for the regional economy. "October is an especially important time for tourism throughout the region, and these openings mean visitors can experience more of the Parkway’s fall scenery," Swartout stated, emphasizing the increased access to communities, businesses, and destinations along the route. In addition to the broad stretches of reopened Parkway, specific recovery road projects have been completed in North Carolina, including milepost 317.5, south of Linville Falls, to milepost 324.7, and milepost 333.9 in Little Switzerland to milepost 340.2 at NC-80.
The Boone and Blowing Rock area has seen several key openings. The Deep Gap Bridge at milepost 276.4 has reopened after being closed for regularly scheduled maintenance this summer. Loops B and D in the Julian Price Campground at milepost 297 are also now accessible. These loops had been closed as a result of Hurricane Helene, with access restored thanks to the work of multiple crews of arborists and volunteers. Reservations for the Julian Price Campground are available through October 30.
This round of reopenings follows other recently accessible sections in the Boone and Blowing Rock corridor. For instance, a historic road reconstruction project spanning milepost 229.6 north of Doughton Park to milepost 305.1 near Grandfather Mountain was completed in mid-September. Beyond North Carolina, a section of the Parkway in Roanoke, Virginia, from milepost 115 to 121, also recently reopened, marking the completion of a multiyear repaving and rehabilitation project. While significant progress has been made, final Helene road repairs are still underway from milepost 344 to 355 and are slated for completion and reopening by the end of 2026.
