Traffic re-routed around rock slide on 411 Spur

Rock is piled up on part of southbound U.S. 441 after a rockslide covered part of the roadway between Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.

A rock slide on the southbound U.S. 441 Monday night between Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg forced traffic to be re-routed along the northbound lanes of the highway.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park managers and officials from the Tennessee Department of Transportation met Tuesday to develop plans to improve the traffic flow and safety of the mile-long detour that carries southbound U.S. 441 traffic around Monday night’s rockslide.

Currently the south-bound traffic is being diverted onto one of the two lanes that normally carry north-bound traffic, creating two-way traffic flow.

The slide occurred on the portion of the Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge Spur which is owned by the State of Tennessee, so TDOT has sole responsibility for repairs of the slide itself. The rest of the 5 mile-long Spur, including the detour area, is part of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, so the two agencies are working jointly to manage traffic during the closure of the south-bound Spur which TDOT believes may last a month or more.