Shipping companies affected by North Carolina road closures

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (WSPA) – The damage from Hurricane Helene will be long-lasting, especially for shipping companies that frequently use North Carolina roads.

According to the North Carolina Department of Transportation, drivers cannot get from North Carolina to Tennessee via Interstate 40 or Interstate 26.

Igor Tekmenzhi, the president of Heavy Hauls Logistics said that road closures mean trucks must re-route. This reduces productivity for shipping companies by 20-30%.

“Every trucking company is affected, so you’ll see traffic,” Tekmenzhi said. “If you go to [Interstate] 85 right now, traffic is probably double what it normally is. Atlanta is the same way because every truck is rerouting through [Interstate] 85 now. Every truck that runs north and southbound that used to go down [Interstates] 81 and 26 into Asheville, they’re all rerouting down through 85.”

Tekmenzhi said the new route has added roughly 100 miles, and that’s an extra day for truck drivers. This means more labor and at a higher cost.

“It’s just more labor and more miles so that drives cost up for us to operate and for our customers.” he explained. “It’ll drive cost up for every consumer.”

Tekmenzhi said that is not what concerns him. The most important thing is Asheville residents and about making sure people in affected areas are taken care of. Tekmenzhi said he would drive more supplies up in Heavy Hauls trucks.

“If anyone has new or used food grade totes to donate, we are willing to bring them up there for free,” Tekmenzhi said.

Tekmenzhi advised people to contact Heavy Hauls Solutions directly. You can use this link to find their contact information, Heavy Haul Solutions, LLC .

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