NCDOT crews have reopened 600+ roads since Helene; $10M contract award to stabilize I-40 lanes in WNC

RALEIGH, N.C. ( QUEEN CITY NEWS ) — North Carolina Department of Transportation leaders are saying they’re making steady progress on the several billion dollars in damages to roads in western North Carolina.

Following the devastation from Hurricane Helene and previous rainfall Sept. 26-27, state officials say crews have reopened more than 600 roads. The majority of the region was placed under a travel advisory, and NCDOT is still asking for essential travel only in the hardest hit areas.

“Damage estimates from what we have been able to assess to this point are up to several billion dollars and we’re not done,” said state Transportation Secretary Joey Hopkins. “The damage to our roads and bridges is like nothing we’ve ever seen after any storm, and this will be a long-term recovery operation. But we will be here until Western North Carolina can get back on its feet.”

Transportation crews have nearly completed operations using chainsaws to cut and move debris to the shoulders to reopen roads. Those “cut-and-shove” crews have created more than 4,100 debris sites on roadsides.

In addition to fallen trees and power lines from high winds, there was unprecedented flooding, causing landslides that destroyed mountain roads and highways. NCDOT has identified more than 6,900 sites where roads and bridges are damaged.

Since Helene exited North Carolina, NCDOT has reopened 600 roads, mostly in western North Carolina.

The roads that have been reopened include:

• Interstate 40 near Old Fort and in downtown Asheville,
• I-26 in Henderson and Polk counties,
• U.S. 221, U.S. 321 and U.S. 421 in the Boone area, and
• U.S. 70 and U.S. 25 in Asheville.

I-26 in Madison County approaching the Tennessee state line is expected to reopen by the end of October, according to the NCDOT website.

The agency has awarded a $10 million contract to Wright Brothers Construction to stabilize the westbound lanes of I-40 in the Pigeon River Gorge in Madison County. The contract includes incentives to be completed by Jan. 4. NCDOT is working with Tennessee transportation officials and the Federal Highway Administration on the long-term plan for reconstruction of I-40 in the gorge.

Officials say getting power restored remains a priority. As of Monday, there were more than 19,000 places – down from over 1 million after the storm — without power in western North Carolina.

As of Monday, NCDOT said more than 2,000 of its employees are working on the recovery operations. This includes 375 central support staff and 1,700 employees working on recovery operations, such as using dump trucks, backhoes and graders to clear roads.

The agency is still calling on people to not travel in western North Carolina, unless they are local, responding to the recovery effort or have essential travel needs.

“Non-essential traffic continues to hinder our efforts to reopen roads,” Hopkins said. “Many of our crews are having to stop work to allow traffic through damaged areas. We’re working as hard as we can, but we need most of these travelers to use alternate routes outside of the impacted areas to get through and around western North Carolina.”

Boone, Blowing Rock accessible

Despite much of the Asheville area still in the rebuilding process, Boone and Blowing Rock are now accessible.

That’s because the U.S. 321 corridor between Lenoir and Boone is exempt from the travel advisory. Further, all travel is also allowed on U.S. 221 between Boone and West Jefferson.

Though not an NCDOT property, the Blue Ridge Parkway remains closed indefinitely in North Carolina. The section in Virginia reopened over the weekend.

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