The 469-mile ribbon of asphalt that snakes along the spine of the Blue Ridge and Appalachian Mountains in Virginia and North Carolina, America’s longest National Park, has remained closed to traffic throughout the entirety of the shutdown affecting at least 25 percent of the U.S. government. Federal funding ran out at midnight on Friday, December 21, 2018, leading to the three-week-long standoff between President Donald Trump and Congress.
Even though local residents and tourists alike use the roads in Central Virginia on the Blue Ridge Parkway during their daily commutes and other journeys, most of the road split between the two states is closed, and has been since the winter storm in early December that dropped more than one foot of snow and ice over much of the Commonwealth.
Crews have been working to clean up from that and an earlier storm as well, which left vast heaps of debris like branches and larger rocks on roadways. Though, with the government shutdown, it may be a long time before the parkway is cleared and the entire length is fully opened.
The Interior Department is one of nine federal departments that is currently closed or has employees furloughed, with over 800,000 federal workers affected in all. Many National Park Service (NPS) areas are, for the most part, open to the public, but no personnel will be available to provide maintenance or emergency response. Moreover, all government offices and most campgrounds will remain shut.
The NPS real-time closure map shows that the northernmost access point for the Blue Ridge Parkway on Afton Mountain is closed, with sporadic openings along the Virginia portion of the roadway. The roadway is nearly entirely closed in most of Galax County on the border of North Carolina.
On Twitter, The NPS division managing the Blue Ridge Parkway said:
“During the federal government shutdown, we will not monitor or update social media. Some facilities on the Blue Ridge Parkway will remain open. Details of the operating status of facilities are available on the Road and Facilities page of the park website.”
On the NPS website, it reads:
“During the federal government shutdown, this website will not be updated and may not reflect current conditions. Some national parks may remain accessible to visitors; however, access may change without notice. Some parks are closed completely. Some visitor services may be available when provided by concessioners or other entities. For most parks, there will be no National Park Service-provided visitor services, such as restrooms, trash collection, facilities, or road maintenance.”
As Democrats forwarded a bill on the opening day of the 116th Congress to reopen the federal government through September 30 for all departments – except Homeland Security, which will be funded through February 8 contingent on other measures – President Trump has reaffirmed his commitment for at least $5 billion in border wall funding. Leading the opposition, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (CA-12), has reiterated that no funding will be given to the proposed U.S.-Mexico border wall.
With little movement had on striking a deal over the weekend, most of the Blue Ridge Parkway will remain closed, indefinitely.
