Since last Saturday (March 16), motorists travelling on Newfound Gap Road (U.S. 441) across Great Smoky Mountains National Park should experience no more construction delays on weekends at the two tunnels which have been undergoing renovation since Thanksgiving.

National Park Service managers say work to improve the tunnels has been completed right on schedule, so from this weekend onward no more lane closures will be allowed between 6 p.m. on Fridays and 6 a.m. on Mondays. During the week motorists will still encounter one-lane closures controlled by flaggers at any time of the day or night. These single-lane closures are scheduled to continue through May 17 when all work in the travel lanes will be suspended for the summer.

The most lengthy lane-closure periods will occur in April when one lane will be closed in one tunnel or the other 24-hours a day Monday through Friday for four weeks in succession. Those closures will allow the interior tunnel linings to be painted with a white, watertight finish.

Prior to this renovation, the tunnel linings were dark gray concrete. Park managers decided to apply the white coating partially to enhance motorist safety by making the unlighted tunnels less gloomy.

The popular Chimney Tops Trail reopened on Saturday, March 16, for the first time since Thanksgiving.