Blue Ridge Parkway undergoes ‘incredible progress’ post Hurricane Helene flooding

FILE VIDEO: Naaman Horn, of the National Park Service, talks about the reopening of a nearly 20-mile stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway for the first time since Hurricane Helene devastated the region.

As the one-year mark of Hurricane Helene‘s destructive flooding approaches, crews along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina are making huge strides in rebuilding the historic highway through the Appalachian Highlands. 

National Park Service officials with the Blue Ridge Parkway recently shared photos taken from a Hurricane Helene repair project at milepost 401.5 in the southernmost part of the parkway in North Carolina. The photos show the progress of rebuilding the mountainside to support the road. 

“Rebuilding a mountainside is no easy feat!” the NPS said on Facebook. 

Crews rebuild a mountainside near Ferrin Knob Tunnel No. 3 on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. 

(NPS / FOX Weather)

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According to the NPS, crews excavated the area and are building back the slope with an engineered system for the area washed out by landslides during Helene.

“The structural slope is finished with topsoil and revegetated, and then the pavement system is installed,” the NPS said. “This method is called reinforced soil slope or RSS. This method has been used serval times throughout Parkway history.”

Crews rebuild a mountainside near Ferrin Knob Tunnel No. 3 on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. 

(NPS / FOX Weather)

In September 2024, Hurricane Helene dropped up to 30 inches of rain – about four months’ worth – in three days in some areas along the Parkway. The NPS said Helene caused at least 57 landslides that wiped out stretches of the 469-mile parkway and brought peak sustained winds of up to 60 mph that downed trees and destroyed many park facilities.

The photo below was taken soon after Helene hit in the same area above, showing the extensive repair work needed.

BEFORE: Damage from Helene near Ferrin Knob Tunnel No. 3 on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. 

(NPS / FOX Weather)

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According to the NPS, this area is just one of many ongoing Helene repair projects expected to continue through the summer. These recovery efforts are happening from milepost 223.8 to 421.8, in addition to other planned maintenance projects across the Parkway.