Officials Hold Dedication Ceremony, Celebrate Opening of Foothills Parkway

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials were joined by Senator Lamar Alexander, Congressman John J. Duncan, Jr, Congressman Phil Roe, Governor Bill Haslam, and NPS Southeast Regional Director Bob Vogel to dedicate the long-awaited section of the Foothills Parkway between Walland and Wears Valley, TN before the public opening. The public may now experience this new section of roadway for the first time since construction began in 1966, including the 1.65-mile section known as the Missing Link that is now connected by a series of nine bridges, as the roadway officially opened for motorists and cyclists on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018.

“We are proud to dedicate this roadway to the people who dreamed it, engineered it, built it, and supported it,” said Superintendent Cassius Cash. “Each person gathered here today has been a part of creating a legacy parkway that the public will enjoy for generations to come.”

The celebration was attended by over 200 former and current employees of the National Park Service, Eastern Federal Lands Highway Division of the Federal Highway Administration, Tennessee Department of Transportation, contractors, and community leaders who participated in the construction of the parkway over the last several decades. Senator Alexander, Congressman Duncan, Congressman Roe, and Governor Haslam joined Superintendent Cash to cut the ribbon signifying the grand opening of the Foothills Parkway.