Folks, If you plan to bird in Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the next 18 months, you may want to print this out for planning. Charlie Great Smoky Mountains National Park News Release Immediate Release Contact: Bob Miller Date: February 15, 2006 865/436-1207 Repaving Work to Begin on Newfound Gap Road Great Smoky Mountains National Park Superintendent Dale A. Ditmanson has announced that an 18 month project to repave 10 miles of the Park?s Newfound Gap Road (U.S. 441) is set to begin on March 1. Newfound Gap Road serves as the primary visitor access to many of the Park?s most popular trailheads and scenic overlooks and is a heavily-traveled north-south artery between the tourist hubs of Cherokee, NC, 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. The work will be performed under a $15,039,853 contract with APAC-Tennessee, Inc. and will be funded and administered by the Federal Highway Administration?s Eastern Federal Lands Highway Division. Completion of the work is expected in October 2007. Superintendent Ditmanson said, ?In negotiating this contract we made every effort to minimize the disruption to visitor access to Park attractions and to our gateway communities. The contract incorporates a variety of work restrictions that are tailored to avoid lane closures during the busiest periods.? ?However,? Ditmanson said, ?Given that paving work cannot be done in the coldest months, we could not avoid some traffic delays and still get the work done within a reasonable time frame and within available funds. The lane-closures will not be allowed during weekend days, holidays, or during the month of October, but the schedule varies seasonally, so we will work hard to keep visitors and our neighbors informed about the extent of traffic delays they can expect.? (over) Newfound Gap Repaving ? Page 2 The contract calls for the following work limitations: March 1, 2006 through June 14, 2006 No lane closures will be allowed on Fridays from noon to 10:00 p.m. or on Saturdays and Sundays between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. Lane closures will be permitted around the clock from 10:00 p.m. each Sunday night until noon on Fridays. When single lane closures are allowed the contractor may close up to four areas at a time but delays at each closure may not exceed 10 minutes at each location. June 15 through August 15 in both 2006 and 2007 No day time lane closures will be allowed but the contractor will be permitted to close lanes at night. On Monday through Thursday nights closures can be imposed from 9:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights closures may occur from 10:00 p.m. until 8:00 a.m. August 16 through September 30 in both 2006 and 2007 No lane closures will be allowed on Fridays from noon to 10:00 p.m. or on Saturdays and Sundays between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. During the month of September no lane closures will be allowed on weekends ? day or night ? due to heavy traffic created by car shows. Lane closures will be permitted around the clock from 8:00 a.m. each Monday morning until noon on Fridays. October 2006 Due exceedingly heavy leaf season traffic no work on Newfound Gap Road will be permitted during the entire month of October. November 1, 2006 through June 14, 2007 No lane closures will be allowed on Fridays from noon to 10:00 p.m. or on Saturdays and Sundays between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. Lane closures will be permitted around the clock from 10:00 p.m. each Sunday night until noon on Fridays. When single lane closures are allowed the contractor may close up to four areas at a time but delays at each closure may not exceed 10 minutes at each location. Beginning in March 2006 the Park has will have a new toll-free recoding to which will have seasonally updated Newfound Gap Road construction information at 1-888-355-1849. Information on unplanned or emergency road closures in the Smokies are always available at (865) 436-1200 ext 631 (in Tennessee) or (828) 4971909. No work at all will be allowed on national legal holidays, on Good Friday or the Monday after Easter. No work will be allowed the Friday after Thanksgiving or from December 23 through January 2. This section of road was last repaved in 1979 and is badly deteriorated. In addition to removal and replacement of old pavement, the contract includes installation of over two miles of steel-reinforced wooden guardrail, repair of 5,900 feet of stone curbing and rehabilitation of 2,900 linear feet of culverts. ******************************************************************* Charlie Muise, Naturalist near Great Smoky Mountains National Park "To the dull mind all nature is leaden. To the illuminated mind the whole world sparkles with light." - Ralph Waldo Emerson __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER===================== The TN-Bird Net requires you to sign your messages with first and last name, city (town) and state abbreviation. You are also required to list the count in which the birds you report were seen. 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