129 Dragon Closed – Both Sides
March 19, 2010 by Godfather
The rock slide that has left part of 129, known as Tail of the Dragon, closed on the Tennessee side (between the Dragon and Happy Valley Road/Foothills Parkway) has now been closed on both sides.
TDOT closed 129 at the NC/TN boarder and it looks as though the road will not open until March 26.
UPDATE - 3-24-10 – Well, it is not looking good for summer riding (at least on the Dragon). TNDOT has just reported an ESTIMATED date of September 1, 2010 for the re-opening. See below for people to contact regarding voicing your concern. There is no question that this effects the summer riding.
UPDATE - 3-27-10 – TDOT has taken down the Sept 1 target date and replaced it with a July 31st date. We will know more after Monday after the contract has been awarded. We can tell you that the contract looks like it will include some “finish early” incentives. This should result in a sooner than July 31st opening – but we will report more *here* when we get all the details.
3-29-10 – The 129 / Dragon is now looking at an open date around July 1 or SOONER. The contract has been awarded for a cool $2 million and there are incentives for them to finish before the July deadline.
***Latest Update 4-08-10 – TDOT has announced in a press release that the 11 mile section known as the Tail of the Dragon will be open from 8 am to 8 pm beginning Monday April 12, 2010. The only access is from North Carolina US 129. THP… announced that there will be zero tolerance for traffic violations.***
LATEST UPDATE 7-9-10 – : ROAD OPEN! NOW GET OUT AND RIDE!
The “full closure” is largely due to the inability of TN emergency vehicles able to access the Dragon however, it is questionable why the long-term fix.
There are plenty of other great rides in the area. Check out Featured Rides on 129Dragon.com
Concerns over the temporary closure of US129 should be addressed to these officials:
NC Governor:
Governor Bev Perdue
Governor’s Office
Office of the Governor
20301 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-0301
Phone: (919)733-4240
Fax: (919)733-2120
governor.office@nc.gov
NC US Congressman:
Congressman Heath Shuler
422 Cannon House Office Bldg.
Washington, DC, 20515
Phone: (202) 225-6401
Fax: (202) 226-6422
Boyce.Deitz@mail.house.gov
NC State Representative:
Senator John Snow
NC Senate
16 W. Jones Street, Room 2111
Raleigh, NC 27601-2808
Phone: (919) 733-5875
Email: John.Snow@ncleg.net
TN Governor:
Governor Phil Bredesen
Governor’s Office
Tennessee State Capitol
Nashville, TN 37243-0001
Phone: 615.741.2001
Fax: 615.532.9711
Phil.Bredesen@tn.gov
TN US Congressman:
Congressman John J Duncan JR
2207 Rayburn House Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-5435
Fax: 202-225-6440
http://www.house.gov/writerep/
TN State Representative:
Senator Doug Overbey
4 Legislative Plaza
Nashville, TN 37243-0208
Phone: 615-741-0981 or
800-449-TENN, ext. 10981
Fax: 615-253-0224
Sen.Doug.Overbey@capitol.tn.gov
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