The National Park Service announced in March that it plans to adopt the N.C. Department of Transportation’s Final Environmental Impact Statement for the project. NPS has been involved with the project planning, preparation and analysis included in the document. 

The planned widening will conflict with the Parkway’s existing piers because of their proximity to the roadway. The selected action realigns a short portion of the Parkway and plans construction of a new bridge spanning I-26 adjacent to the existing bridge on the south side. The new bridge will be 606 feet long with two 10-foot lanes, 3-foot shoulders and a 5-foot sidewalk on one side to accommodate the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. Additional parking for the MST is planned on part of the old road alignment. 

The Parkway will remain open during the multi-year construction of the new bridge and demolition of the existing one. The complete set of DOT decision documents is available at parkplanning.nps.gov/bridgeoverI-26home.