The Tennessee Department of Transportation will need to obtain an emergency contract to stabilize a portion of the mountainside which gave way Monday and forced the closure of the southbound lanes of U.S. 441 (The Spur) between Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.
TDOT geo-technical engineers inspected the rockslide site early this morning and determined that the mountainside is still very unstable and additional work must be completed to stabilize the slope before the roadway can be reopened to traffic.
At this time, TDOT believes the roadway could potentially be closed for more than a month.
Crews are on site today removing additional debris in order to get a closer look at the slide area.
Additional details on the amount of work to be completed and an estimated time line for reopening the roadway will be provided once the extent of the repair needed is determined.
Traffic is currently being detoured around the slide with the northbound U.S. 441 lanes accommodating both north and southbound traffic.
Motorists should use extreme caution while passing through the detour area.