The Mountaineer

County tourism leaders and business owners who expect to be affected by the closure of Interstate 40 due to a rockslide Sunday said the recent disaster is a setback forcing them to work harder and smarter, but business will go on.

Engineers working to clean up the massive pile of rocks and debris blocking I-40 about three miles inside the Haywood County line have said it could be months before that section of roadway is reopen for traffic. Meanwhile, the road will remain closed just past exit 20 to Maggie Valley and motorists are being rerouted along one of several alternate routes.

Closure of the interstate could mean that fewer tourists find their way to Haywood County this year while the major thoroughfare remains closed, but tourism leaders are working hard to minimize that.

“It all boils down to communication,” said Lynn Collins, the county’s tourism authority executive director . “A lot is dependent on how long it takes to get this cleaned up, and we have no idea about that yet. We’ll sort of have to play it by ear, monitor the situation and keep the communication open and ongoing as needed. Right now, it’s still too early to tell (what the impact will be).”

While fall leaf season is coming to a close, tourism leaders fear closure of the road will have the greatest impact on winter attractions, particularly Cataloochee Ski Area, and to a lesser degree, holiday visitors.

“Fortunately, we’re going into a shoulder month (in between peak times), but we’re going to have to work harder and do a better job getting skiers in here,” said Collins. “The TDA has never really focused on (promoting) the winter season before; that’s something we’re trying to focus on this year. Having the road closed reiterates the fact that we need to be doing that.”

The holiday season is a big draw, but Christmas time visitors typically come from southern states and coastal areas, said Collins. Thanksgiving typically draws family and friends, although there has been no research to determine the areas from which most Thanksgiving visitors travel.

Cataloochee Ski Area, however, attracts a growing number of skiers and snowboarders from the east Tennessee area and maintains numerous partnerships with ski and snowboard shops in that area.

“A lot of our season pass holders live in that directions,” said marketing director Tammy Brown, “so, we’re going to do everything we can to keep those guys coming across the mountain. … It will hurt us. But we’re going to work smarter and give as much information to our guests as we possibly can, and give them every avenue to get here that we possibly can. (Closing the road) doesn’t mean people can’t get here. We just have to show them a different way and make ourselves more available.”

Keeping motorists and tourists informed will be much easier than it was 12 years ago when a similar situation forced the closure of a section of I-40 in early July. TDA board chairwoman Alice Aumen, who at the time of the earlier slide was serving as director of the Maggie Valley Chamber of Commerce, said she expects the most recent slide to have less of an impact on the local tourism season.

“The 1997 slide occurred in July close to the fourth of July weekend. It couldn’t have happened at a worse time,” said Aumen. “While some feel this slide may affect our color season, it’s coming to a close. I don’t believe it will have the same impact (on tourism) that the last one did.”

Things have changed significantly over the past decade, Aumen continued. Most notably, unlike the 1997 slide, officials today have access to more efficient ways of communicating.

“We’ve got a much better communication system now, including access to the Internet, so we can get the message out there immediately.  Twelve years ago I don’t think that many people were equipped or familiar enough to have that information before they ran up against a big barrier and didn’t know what to do,” she said. “Also, I-26 west of Asheville was not open 12 years ago, so the only rerouting we could do from the Asheville area was to put (travelers) on US 19/23/70, and it was terrible for tractor trailers because it’s nothing but a two-lane road to take them up to I-81. That slide had a huge impact. There were a lot of accidents with tractor-trailers on that road. It was a whole different scenario at that time, with communication and routing.”

Without being able to depend on the Internet to spread the word about the 1997 rockslide and road closure, TDA officials set up a tent on the side of the road at the last open exit, said Aumen. For almost a week, tourism leaders remained on site with maps charting alternate routes.

“There was a lot of traffic,” she said, “(Motorists) who came to the barrier didn’t know what was going on or where to go. …Haywood County also had to contribute about $10,000, pooled together with resources from the Asheville TDA and state funding, to get the message out. So, we’re hoping the Internet will take care of a lot of this and provide avenues for better communication all the way around. We really don’t want to put $10,000 into a campaign just to tell people we are open.”

Most important is maintaining open lines of communication and using all available avenues of communication, said Aumen, which both Cataloochee and area tourism leaders are doing by way of individual Web sites, social networking sites and other forms of electronic messaging.

“Our mission is to do everything we can to get the situation worked out and to encourage people to keep on with their plans,” she said. “Our message now is just getting it out there that we are alive and well, (travelers) just have to reroute to get here.”

TDA officials said they are posting regular updates on their website, as well as through social networking sites, like facebook and Twitter.  Brown said Cataloochee is doing the same.

Furthermore, “we just started a virtual post card campaign,” said Collins of a new initiative through which tourism officials can send electronic post card type messages. “So we can do some new things with that, too. We just really have to get the word out. That’s what it all boils down to.”

Bus route affected

Haywood County Schools has one bus affected by the closure of Interstate 40 near the Tennessee line.

Dr. Bill Nolte, associate superintendent, said Bus 165 runs a route from the state line to Waynesville Middle, Tuscola High and Haywood Early College. The driver of the bus, Betty White, also transports her children on the bus and her family is the only ones who live on the other side of the slide.

“DOT is providing us with a secure and safe place for us to park by exit 20,” Nolte said. “Ms. White will drive the 12-mile stretch in her personal vehicle to the bus and the first pick up is by exit 20.”

The change went into effect Tuesday, since there was no school on Monday.