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Up here in the Tellico Mountains, we’ve been busy building Arks. Over the 3rd week of January we got a total of about 8 inches of rain plus a little snow! That replenished the badly needed ground water and brought the Tellico Rivery back up to snuff but it also had some bad effects.
One effect is a mud slide that closed the Cherohula Skyway at about the TN/NC line. The Skyway is a destination for those who like to ride sport bikes, drive sports cars or just see some beautiful scenery. It connects Tellico Plains, TN with Robbinsville,NC.
On about the 17th of January, a huge mud slide took out a good hunk of the roadway and resulted in Tn-DOT closing the road completely. The next day my friend and neighbor Vicki J and another friend Tracy drove up to look at and photograph the damage. Here are Vicki’s photos.
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The damage is extensive enough that the road will probably be closed through at least most of the summer riding season. No word yet from TN-DOT about a time to repair.
John
02/03/2013 update: With speed that I didn’t know a government agency could pull off, TN/NC-DOT has the Skyway back open. I haven’t driven up to see what they’ve done but I’ve heard that they removed the guard rail on the other side and made a lane out of the shoulder. In any event, it’s back open and all is well.