Got this from a friend. Didn't hear of it so posting. Forgive me if old news .http://www.thedailytimes.com/article/20100319/NEWS/100319960

 

Should be cleaned up by Monday unless it's not safe after clean-up.

 

Not. They've put put bids to move a 60 ton boulder that is dangerously exposed after the last slide. No one knows how long this will last at this point...

 

That's not good.

 

Right now the word on the street is that they are going to have it cleaned up by the 26th of March. Check Deals Gap Facebook page.

Also just becuase watch this video, it has some of the rockslide.

http://www.wbir.com/video/default.as...01/71783729001

 

I'm glad that gentleman and/or his dog in the Lincoln LS wasn't hurt. I just can't believe he saw the camera crew BEFORE the rockslide. I would think it should be the other way around. For that, I laugh......a little.

 

This is what is wrong with most drivers in this day and age... DISTRACTED!

This guy claims he didn't even see the road blocked!!!!!

Those glasses he is wearing do him no justice!

If he can't see the boulders blocking the roadway he needs to see his optometrist pronto!

During the interview he is holding a cell phone... betcha dollars for donuts that this mook was talking and not driving!

 

This is TDOT's official webpage link for the Rockslide: http://news.tennesseeanytime.org/node/4784. If you go to the bottom of the page, there is a map link and an aerial photo link. Both are in PDF form and can be saved if you want to do so.

Here's a link for "Visit NC" that has some info at the bottom about U.S. 129: http://www.visitnc.com/advisories/view/6.

As some of you may have heard, the Dragon is closed at the Tennessee border. Here is a link from Deal's Gap requesting the barricade be moved further into the state to allow people to drive on it: http://www.dealsgap.com/save-the-gap/index.html.

You can also see about getting some additional info by going here: http://www.tailofthedragon.com/.

From everything I have read, it looks like March 26th is still the official reopen date. Some of the research indicates they will be drilling steel rebar into the rockface to stabilize it. The only other solution is to use a steel fence guard, like you would see driving on one of the interstates through the mountains.

 

that video made my day.

 

So.... he's talking on the phone when we all know there's no cell phone coverage on the Dragon? Or has technology reached that area of TN/NC?

 

Update... there is a thread post on the Tail of the Dragon site that mentions March 29th as the date for a contract awarded for cleaning the road. September 2010 is the stated date for the potential amount of time it will take to clear the rocks.

 

The Sept date isn't "real". This was taken from a source it shouldn't have been taken from. They have NO IDEA how long this will take until the contract is awarded and work begins.

 

Front page of Knox News

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2010/ma...-closed-weeks/

MARYVILLE - The popular roadway known as the Dragon will remain closed for many more weeks and perhaps until end the end of July, according to the Tennessee Department of Transportation.

TDOT spokeswoman Yvette Martinez said today the department's goal is to reopen the section of U.S. Highway 129 in Blount County by July 31.

A rockslide prompted its closure March 14.

The department said today it will let an emergency contract Monday to clear debris from the two-lane road. TDOT has qualified two contractors to bid for the project: Pacific Blasting Demolition Ltd. and Phillips & Jordan, Inc.

Clean-up would begin April 5.

Martinez said TDOT plans at least in the short-term of keep all lanes closed during the work.

The slide, just south of the highway's junction with the Foothills Parkway, occurred just as traffic by motorcyclists and thrill-seekers was about to pick up.

The Dragon is an international favorite with bikers and sport car enthusiasts because it has 318 curves in an 11-mile, mountainside route.

The southbound lane was reopened briefly after the slide but was closed again because of safety concerns.

Geologists have examined the hillside.

More details as they become available online and in Friday's News Sentinel.

 

That's gonna hurt everyone's plans.

 

naw... you can still have a ton of fun with fellow MINIacs.
Also, they are working very hard to get the Dragon open southbound so people can still drive the road.

 

There are still lots of other roads to run around there. I'm still going.

 

When we go up there everyone should grab like 1 or 2 rocks and that can help clear it that much faster

 

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...is-closed.html