America’s Historic Roads
Puzzle 57 · Parkways and Scenic Engineering · Page 83 in print
Blue Ridge Parkway
The Blue Ridge Parkway took more than fifty years to complete. Its final link, the Linn Cove Viaduct, opened in 1987 after a design that reduced disturbance to the mountainside.
Jump to a word
The words
Asheville
City whose leaders campaigned for the southern alignment.
Blowing Rock
North Carolina area considered in the route study.
Bottom Lands
Low-lying land included in Abbott’s varied route.
Harold Ickes
Interior secretary who approved the public works project.
Harry Byrd
Virginia senator who advocated the park-to-park extension.
Hugh Morton
Grandfather Mountain owner who opposed the proposed construction.
Linn Cove
Cove where the final parkway viaduct was built.
New Deal
Federal program era that supplied part of the parkway workforce.
North Carolina
State involved in the proposed parkway route.
Sketches
Preliminary drawings used in planning discussions.
Stanley Abbott
Landscape architect overseeing the parkway project.
Tennessee
State included in the recommended parkway route study.
Variety
Abbott’s stated principle of changing roadside experiences.
Viewsheds
Areas visible from the road that planners sought to protect.
Woodlands
Wooded settings interspersed with more open views.
Sources
- Construction of the Parkway - Blue Ridge ParkwayNational Park Service
- Designing the Blue Ridge Parkway - Blue Ridge ParkwayNational Park Service