Aerial Tramway upgrades have been underway for eight weeks. Our team has been working hard to ensure reopening by May 28th. In the past two weeks, we have successfully rigged all the new track rope cable to the Aerial Tramway. Now that the new cable is in installed, the Aerial Tramway is undergoing testing and fine tuning on all moving parts.
During this time, we have also installed a fiber optic network to our Mountain Top facilities, including the Aerial Tramway control room. Now that everything is installed, we have removed the spools that the track rope cables were delivered on. We have also removed the winches needed to install the new cables on the tramway. These materials have been packed up and shipped back to Doppelmayr USA, the company that is assisting our staff with the project. All old track rope cables have been picked up by a local recycling company, which will ultimately be repurposed for future use.
The winch used to install the new track rope cables preparing to be shipped.
In addition to testing the Aerial Tramway, our team is now busy with landscaping efforts. To get the machinery in place for this project we had to remove multiple flower beds, small trees, and plants. These areas are now getting replanted. We are currently on schedule to reopen the Aerial Tramway on Friday, May 28th.
Downtown Aerial Tram Terminal before landscaping starts.
The Aerial Tramway upgrades started on March 22nd and has an approximate open date of May 27th. This major upgrade will cost roughly 4.5 million USD. During this time, we are offering a free shuttle from Downtown Gatlinburg to Ober Gatlinburg. Although the Aerial Tramway will not be in service, we will continue to operate all other attractions, retail shops, and food service locations. Please check our Instagram, Facebook, and website for updates regarding operating hours and activity schedules.
