National Park Service to close US 441 at night due to ‘influx of illegal large commercial vehicles’

The National Park Service (NPS) will completely shutter US 441 through the Great Smoky Mountain National Park each night due to a large number of commercial vehicle drivers illegally using the road as they try to find routes around Hurricane Helene-related road closures.

On October 5, the NPS announced that US441/Newfound Gap Road between Tennessee and North Carolina will be completely closed from 10 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. due to safety concerns regarding commercial vehicle traffic.

US 441 reopened after Hurricane Helene on the morning of October 2, and since that time, NPS reports an “influx of illegal, large commercial vehicles attempting to travel the road” as truck drivers try to get around the closures of I-40 and I-26.

Park officials said that in a 24 hour period, 45 commercial vehicles were turned away from US 441. Additionally, NPS reported that overnight, a car hauler “crashed into a wall and down an embankment,” and a second semi truck’s brakes caught fire.

“While responding to these incidents, eight semi trucks drove past emergency responders,” NPS stated.

“While the NPS recognizes that major routes outside the park are currently closed, Newfound Gap Road is not safe for large, commercial vehicles. Newfound Gap Road is a two-lane road with steep continuous grades and tight curves. There are no truck lanes, runaway truck ramps or places for a large commercial vehicle to slow down and pull over,” park officials stated.

NPS does not have sufficient staffing to man checkpoints at night to turn commercial traffic back. There is no timeline for US 441 to reopen overnight.