Great Smoky Mountains officials are reporting that a huge landslide near mile marker 22 has taken a large chunk out of Newfound Gap Rd. (US 441). The slide occurred Thursday morning around 9:40 a.m. and left a gap in the road roughly the size of a football field. No one was reported injured.

Officials expect to have an estimate by next week on  how long it might to take to repair the road.

The remainder of the road is still being examined but Newfound Gap Road from the Gatlinburg side to the Newfound Gap parking area is expected to be re-opened as soon as possible. On the North Carolina side the road up to Smokemont is also expected to re-opened very soon.

Several roads in the park have been closed recently due to the prolonged rainfall that began over the weekend and it’s likely that the large amounts of rain were a factor in the landslide.