New toilets meet ADA and environmental needs

Posted 11/27/2009 4:05 AM ET USA Today GATLINBURG, Tenn. (AP) — Visitors to the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will find better toilet facilities next year. The National Park Service will close the Clingman's Dome Road next Tuesday as part of the winter routine. But during the winter, the old restrooms -- built more than six decades ago by the Civilian Conservation Corps -- will be replaced. The agency said three sets of toilets that meet standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act will be installed. Park officials said the vault toilets also meet more stringent water quality standards; the old system was overwhelmed by increasing use. Vault toilets have holding tanks that are periodically pumped.