The section of the Blue Ridge Parkway from Milepost 455 to the southern terminus at Milepost 469 is now closed until further notice due to a rockslide.
When rangers arrived on scene at the slide, near Milepost 467 early Tuesday morning, the rocks had stopped falling and no injuries or property damage had occurred. The slide area is 30 feet wide and 8 feet deep at the widest and deepest spots.
Although weather will always be a factor in closure times during the winter months, preliminary estimates indicate that a minimum of a week will be needed to clean up and stabilize the slope in this area. If additional stabilization is necessary or winter weather restricts access to the area, the closure might be longer than expected. Real time road closure updates are available at maps.nps.gov/blri/road-closures/.
Rock slides are more prevalent in the winter than in other times of year because the, often daily, freezing and thawing of water in the cracks within these rocks compromises these slopes and can cause slope failure. Parkway Management reminds park visitors to be especially cautious while driving on the Parkway in the winter because of this increased chance.