Gov. Josh Stein said Monday that the stretch of Interstate 40 connecting North Carolina to Tennessee will reopen in less than three weeks. This part of I-40, a major commercial corridor, has been closed for more than four months since Hurricane Helene devastated the area.
鈥淭he good news is, thanks to the great work of the North Carolina Department of Transportation, with the help of the federal government, we expect traffic, two-way, to resume on March 1st,鈥� Stein told reporters during a visit to the damaged stretch of roadway, which runs along the Pigeon River Gorge.
鈥淭hese guys have been working hard. The idea is to have one lane going in each direction, reduced speed. But at least it will start the process of reconnecting Western North Carolina with the rest of the country,鈥� he added.
A 20-mile portion of I-40 along the Pigeon River , when it sustained heavy damage during Hurricane Helene and part of the roadway collapsed into the gorge below.
Before the storm, the affected stretch of interstate was traveled by 26,000 people every day, Stein said. It is also a major commercial thoroughfare.
Construction has been underway on a four-mile stretch where portions of the roadway crumbled away into the river. The section has been a frequent site for repairs over the years, especially after periods of heavy rain.
The road was originally projected to reopen in early January, but rainstorms in late December , leading to the need for further repairs.
Stein was visiting the area to meet with U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who took a tour of the damaged roadway earlier Monday. Joining them were North Carolina Transportation Secretary Joey Hopkins, U.S. Sens. Thom Tillis (R) and Ted Budd (R), U.S. Reps. Chuck Edwards (R) and Tim Moore (R) and other local officials.
鈥淚 can promise you this: I'm not going to forget North Carolina," Duffy told reporters Monday. "The first thing I said in my confirmation hearing was, this was the first trip I was going to take, because I feel like there鈥檚 been a mentality where people weren鈥檛 paying attention to the devastation that happened here. We鈥檙e not going to let that happen.鈥�
U.S. DOT, Forest Service aim to expedite process
Duffy鈥檚 trip to the region came nearly two weeks after he was sworn into the Trump administration. He said the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Forest Service are working to obtain a "special use permit" that will allow them to use rock and other materials from nearby land, speeding up the rebuilding process and making it less costly.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a few miles away. Way closer to this project than the other quarry, which is, again, 25, 30 miles away," Duffy said.
He also of I-40 on Monday.
According to NCDOT Communications Officer David Uchiyama, crews have been working at a swift pace on the reconstruction effort over the past 126 days. In that time, they have used 530 cubic yards of shotcrete, or sprayed concrete, in order to reconstruct the vertical surface of the roadway leading down to the gorge.
They have also used soil nails 鈥� 20-foot long metal bars 鈥� to strengthen the roadway and lessen the chance of erosion in the future.
The average rate of production for soil nails is 1,000 square feet per week, Uchiyama said, but the NCDOT crews used four drill rigs at the same time, upping their output to 90,000 square feet over 18 weeks.
Hopkins told reporters his department is focused on not just rebuilding but making roadways stronger than before, which will likely take more federal dollars.
鈥淎nd we鈥檙e always fighting Mother Nature. And so, we鈥檒l continue to have to build things better. We鈥檒l have to make them more resilient. And we鈥檒l have to spend our transportation dollars on keeping these corridors open and repaired," he said.
Of the estimated $60 billion in damage caused by Hurricane Helene, $5 billion is damage to roads and bridges. Congress is expected to consider an additional disaster relief package next month.
The members of North Carolina's congressional delegation said they are hopeful that funding for private bridge and road repair will be included in the latest relief bill.
Edwards played a key role in ensuring that such language was included in the previous bill, but it was removed before final passage in December.
There is also the possibility of a government shutdown next month as lawmakers wrangle over spending as well as Trump's efforts to drastically reshape 鈥� and, in some cases, eliminate 鈥� parts of the federal government since taking office. Tillis said he hopes to avoid such an outcome.
鈥淓ven if you can manage a shutdown, it鈥檚 a huge distraction that takes a few steps off our pace in recovery," he said. "So, we鈥檙e always trying to avoid it.鈥�
