Glass Panel Cracks on Gatlinburg SkyBridge After Guest Does Baseball Slide

The SkyBridge at Gatlinburg SkyLift Park was home to a solo baseball showdown that resulted in it being closed on Monday for repairs. A guest attempting a "baseball-style slide" around 8:30 p.m. caused the bridge's glass panels to crack, according to a news release.

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Gatlinburg's SkyBridge stretches 680 feet across a valley in the Great Smoke Mountains. It has three glass panels in the middle that allow visitors to see the ground 140 feet below. 

'No running, jumping, or bouncing. Yes baseball slide?'

The bridge has a "no running, jumping, or bouncing" rule, yet the tourist, who either had not seen it or just ignored it, attempted to do a slide across glass panels, which the bridge structure has three at its center, each measuring 5’ x 5’.

"Upon impact, a metal object on the guest's clothing chipped the glass, resulting in noticeable cracks in the protective top layer of one glass panel," the release said. 

The officials stated the structural integrity of the bridge was not affected since the structural glass is "three-ply with the upper layer serving solely to protect the additional layers."

Thankfully, no injuries occurred and park officials said the guests were never in danger.

It has reopened

After being closed Monday night around 8:30, the SkyBridge has reopened after crews replaced the cracked panel with cedar planks.

The Facebook announcement read, "We Are Open! Temporarily replacing one of the 3 glass panels with cedar planks was a project that we completed earlier today."

"The SkyBridge is open at the SkyLift Park from 9 am-10 pm, weather permitting, 7 days a week. Come conquer the longest pedestrian suspension bridge in North America."

The longest pedestrian suspension bridge in North America

The engineering marvel is located at the top of the SkyLift, and it's expanding structure makes it the longest pedestrian-only suspension bridge in North America.

During its construction, more than a million pounds of concrete, 3 miles of cable, and 1,400 cedar planks were used.