Great Smoky Mountains Natl. Park — The National Park Service is considering adding nine miles of road to the Foothills Parkway, an often-traveled roadway just outside the park. The proposed section would extend the road from Wears Valley to the Gatlinburg Spur.
Emily Davis, the public affairs specialist for the park, said the proposed plan would allow visitors to see more of the park.
"We know that many visitors come to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for the scenic driving, and this would really be an exceptional opportunity for people to see the beautiful mountains and the great views from the parkway," Davis said.
Construction of the parkway started in the 1950s with the Gatlinburg Spur.
"Since then, we've been constructing a few miles at a time," Davis said.
According to the National Park Service, the parkway provides recreational driving and biking opportunities for over 400,000 vehicles a year.
The nine-mile project doesn't have funding yet, but the park is asking the public for commentary on the recent environmental assessment of the proposed construction. Community members can review the proposal and submit public comments here.
Construction could take up to 10 years because of a variety of factors, Davis said. Keeping the environmental impact down is a top priority.
"We're looking at geography and other things as well to minimize impacts to the resources and the communities in the area," Davis said. "We've been doing studies on the botany, the plants, the animals, all of that."
These studies will continue throughout the project if construction occurs.
"We will continue to monitor what might be going on with the environment as we're going through the construction," Davis said.
This is just another piece of the parkway in many years of construction. The most recent addition was 16 miles of the parkway that were added, stretching from Walland to Wears Valley.