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Craggy Gardens repaving starts this week

By Lightning Reports, Published: June 4, 2023

Craggy Gardens, one of the more popular destinations on the Blue Ridge Parkway, is scheduled for repaving operations between June 5 and June 21.

The area will remain open on most days. Here is the schedule, weather permitting:

  • Visitor Center parking area. Half of the parking lot will be closed each day on June 5 and 6. The Visitor Center will remain open.  
  • Picnic Area parking area – Expect single lane traffic control on the entry drive and half closures of the parking area while work is occurring June 7-14.   
  • Dome parking area - Due to space constraints, this work must be completed with full closure of the parking area. Expect full closures of that parking lot on June 20-21.  

Pavement preservation applies a new surface to existing asphalt, helping slow deterioration, and allowing the road maintenance budgets to go further. The Blue Ridge Parkway manages 554 miles of paved road, including the iconic 469-mile-long mainline motor road. All pavement deteriorates over time and the parkway has many demands on its road surface as a heavily traveled, high elevation road subject to seasonal freeze-thaw cycles in winter and solar radiation in summer. Approximately 90 percent of the parkway’s maintenance backlog is attributable to maintenance needed on paved roads and areas in the park. 

Multiple road projects are underway and planned this season, and as with any road project, park visitors and neighbors must exercise caution and observe closures. The Parkway website and road status page are important planning tools that provide milepost by milepost status information daily with links to additional project information or detour maps where applicable.