AVERY COUNTY, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – As of Monday, a twelve-mile section of the Blue Ridge Parkway from Beacon Heights to Linville Falls has reopened.

The parkway was closed by the National Park Service for months after a landslide and debris from Hurricane Helene.

Julia Johnson owns Big Al’s, which lies right off the section that has reopened.

“We are so psyched,” Johnson said. “Things have been crazy since the flood.”

The Parkway said at least 57 landslides impacted nearly 200 miles of the road in North Carolina.

“The fact that we can get from Point A to Point B is fabulous,” Johnson said.

Johnson said Avery County depends on tourism – and this has already helped bring in more foot traffic.

“If you don’t teach school. Work for the post office, there isn’t a lot of jobs, so hospi

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