One of the most striking
sections of the Blue Ridge Parkway is the Viaduct, which traverses the Black
Rock area of Grandfather Mountain. Viaducts, which are bridges over land, have
long been used successfully in the European Alps and were utilized with great
visual impact to protect this fragile section of the mountain. This viaduct
consists of 153 50-ton segments and connects seven permanent piers set 180 feet
apart. The design includes almost every kind of alignment geometry ever used
in highway construction, and no two of the 153 segments are alike. Work began
on the viaduct in June 1979 and was completed in November 1982, at a final cost
of $9.8 million. The viaduct has won 12 national design awards and is the most
popular section of the 470-mile Blue Ridge Parkway.
— Excerpt from
Living-Southern Style, Ideal Destinations, vol. 9, no. 4, Fall 2007.
Photo of Viaduct along Blue Ridge Parkway
Photo of Viaduct from Linn Cove
Trail that passes underneath it