CNN —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 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. The NPS aims to reopen the rest of the parkway in Virginia within two weeks, the release said. “Due to the hard work of the Blue Ridge Parkway crews, we are able to open nearly 200 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia, a vital and scenic route that both embodies the natural beauty and cultural heritage of our region,” Tracy Swartout, superintendent of the Blue Ridge Parkway, said in the release.

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Persons: Helene, ” Tracy Swartout, ” Swartout, James Rive Organizations: CNN, National Park Service, NPS, Eastern, America’s National Parks Locations: Virginia, Shenandoah, Turkey, Fancy, North Carolina, Otter