Driving Through Time - The Digital Blue Ridge Parkway
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About this Item
| Title | Road Construction |
| Title Note | Tractor pulling a cargo-loaded truck |
| Date | April 3, 1953 |
| Description | A tractor hauling a truck loaded with pipe up a 32% grade. Taken at Station 554 in Section 2U of the Blue Ridge Parkway, between Mt. Pisgah and Yellowstone Falls. |
| Commentary | This is a picture of the road construction for the Blue Ridge Parkway. A cargo-loaded truck is being connected to a tractor. This is a picture of road construction as part of the Blue Ridge Parkway development. Road construction began on March 01, 1939. The road was open to traffic on September 02, 1955. The road is 9.611 miles long. It runs between Mt. Pisgah and Yellowstone Falls. Parkway planning involved both specifics of curvature and grade and constraints on costs, that played into the actual construction of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Within each segment of the Blue Ridge Parkway, several construction contracts were usually awarded. The first contract involved clearing, grubbing/removal of stumps, provisions for drainage, and rough grading. The next contracts involved the grading and surfacing of the roadway. Most contracts were carried out under the supervision of the Bureau of Public Roads. |
| Location |
Location Name: Milepost 417 Parkway Milepost: 417.0
Latitude: 35.32227
Longitude: -82.82815 |
| Creator Individual | W.P.W. |
| Tags |
Access roads
Blue Ridge Parkway--Planning Land construction Photographs Road construction Tractors Trucks Workers |
| Credit | Courtesy of the North Carolina State Archives |
