Page 24 - March-April2020 Vol37 No7

TCAPWA EVENTS AND HIGHLIGHTS

Upper East Tours Bote Mountain Tunnel By Lisa Hood Skinner

A 72-year-old Gray “Old Lady of the The $950,000 project was funded by the After the tunnel tour, TCAPWA
Mountains” Bote Mountain Tunnel National Park Service, administered by members enjoyed lunch, vied for door
blocked traffic to Cades Cove for nearly the Federal Highway Administration. prizes and toured the exhibits at the Great
two months this year. Smoky Mountains Heritage Center in
The Bote Mountain Tunnel is one Townsend. The generous sponsorship of
The 121-feet-long, 30-feet-wide Bote of four in the Great Smoky Mountains Vulcan Materials and Stowers Machinery
Mountain Tunnel was shut down on National Park. Two other tunnels, brought the tour and meeting to our
Laurel Creek Road, just past Tremont on Newfound Gap Road, have already members at no charge.
Road, in early January for restoration/ undergone updates. The fourth tunnel is
replacement of nine tunnel liner drainage on the Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge Spur. Sadly, following the meeting’s end,
chases and other maintenance, closing off a van enroute to Sevierville carrying
traffic access to Cades Cove. Trails remained open throughout the TCAPWA members and others met
closure, but trail access into the Cades tragic circumstances when a tree fell on
More than 60 members attending the Cove area required at least a 14-mile its roof as the van was passing through
February TCAPWA Upper East Branch roundtrip hike to the Cades Cove Wears Valley, killing Brooke Sampson,
meeting had the rare opportunity to Loop Road from any of the boundary wife of Sevierville Public Works employee
explore then-closed Bote Mountain trailheads. The one-way, seven-mile Rich Michael Sampson, and injuring Sevierville
Tunnel. It is on one of the most traveled Mountain Road, seasonally closed during Public Works employees Bob Moncreif,
roads in the Great Smoky Mountains the winter, could be used by hikers only to Nathan Raulston, Joseph Dodgen and
National Park, leading for seven miles walk in and out of the area.The one-way, Eldon Denney.
from the Townsend Wye to the cove. eight-mile Parson Branch Road has been
closed to all public vehicle use since 2016, The entire TCAPWA family continues
Built in 1948, flanked by four-foot but was usable by hikers, bicyclists and to send its thoughts and prayers to the
shoulders, the tunnel was practically horseback riders to access Cades Cove Sampson family and families of the
unrecognizable for weeks with a wall of throughout the tunnel closure. injured employees.
Tyvek covering up its familiar stonework
facade. The two-lane tunnel had not had
a significant rehab since its inception.
Maintenance needs included replacement
of the overhead drainage chases, concrete
liner patching, crack sealing and
underdrain replacement.

At its apex, the tunnel is 18 feet,
6 inches, and National Park Service
specialists said overhead icicles that
formed in the winter became a safety
hazard for visitors passing through the
tunnel on their way to Cades Cove, Thus,
officials chose to close the tunnel during
the park’s two quietest (and coldest)
months to minimize the visitor impact.

Because rehabilitation work is
temperature sensitive and requires a
climate-controlled environment, the
tunnel was sealed and heated during
work by personnel from Bryant’s Land
& Development Industries of Burnsville,
North Carolina. The region’s relatively
mild winter was in the project’s favor, as
working with concrete in temperatures
below the 50s can be challenging.

Park Service officials said despite the
specialized work in such a tight area,
tunnel renovations went more quickly
than expected, making good progress
towards its reopening date of March 1.
Paving work begins in warmer months
with single-lane closures that keeps open
access to Cades Cove.

24 TPW March/April 2020