Work On Foothills Parkway at Great Smoky Mountains National Park Could Surprise Some Folks

If you use the unopened portion of the Foothills Parkway at Great Smoky Mountains National Park, keep an eye out for motorized vehicles in the coming weeks.

The parkway, a scenic road that shows off the park's vistas on the Tennessee side, is administered by the park. A 9-mile gravel section of the parkway east of Walland, Tennessee, long has been closed to motor vehicles, which has made the route popular with hikers, cyclists and horseback riders.

But park officials say that between November 12 and December 22 these users can expect to encounter construction vehicles each Monday through Friday while a park contractor does some core drilling at the far eastern end of the roadway.