More “Stimulus money” coming to WNC, via taxpayers, from the Citizen-Times:

More than $14 million in federal stimulus money will go toward helping the Blue Ridge Parkway make a dent in its $250 million maintenance backlog, while also infusing money into the local economy.

Funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 will go toward repairing stone walls, removing trees and vegetation to restore views, rehabilitating hiking trails, controlling invasive plants, fixing tunnels and paving picnic areas along the nation’s most visited national park unit.

The bulk of the money, $11.5 million, will go to repair 31,000 feet of historic stone walls that serve as guard rails along the oldest section of the parkway near the North Carolina-Virginia state line. Money will also help to clear overgrown vistas along the length of the 469-mile park that runs from Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park to Great Smoky Mountains National Park.