Part of Cherohala Skyway slides in North Carolina

Friday, January 18, 2013

photo Cherohala Skyway

A popular scenic route from the Tennessee border into North Carolina is closed because of a major landslide.

North Carolina transportation officials said about 150 feet of the Cherohala Skyway slid about 900 feet down a mountain slope on Thursday, a half-mile east of the Tennessee state line.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation has set up a message board warning that no through-traffic is allowed into North Carolina from Tennessee Rt. 165.

Eastbound traffic in North Carolina is being diverted at state Rt. 1159.

There was no immediate estimate of how long the section of the skyway would be closed.

The mountains have been inundated with rain, which also caused a section of U.S. 441 to slide down a slope in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.