Almost 200 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia reopens

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A good stretch of the popular and winding Blue Ridge Parkway is now reopened for safe motoring and scenic fall viewing following Hurricane Helene.

The parkway reopened on Friday from milepost 0 to milepost 198 in Virginia, the National Park Service said in a news release. The entire parkway had been closed because of damage from Helene, which at last count on Friday had taken 238 lives and caused tremendous damage in the Southeast.

The reopening includes 198 miles (319 kilometers) of the scenic byway from Shenandoah National Park south to Virginia Route 685 – Skyview Drive/Turkey Ridge Road, near the town of Fancy Gap, the Thursday news release said.