The interstate reopened Saturday, five months after Helene shut it down.
HAYWOOD COUNTY, N.C. — A major stretch of I-40 that was badly damaged by Hurricane Helene reopened without a hitch. NCDOT spokesperson David Uchimaya said there were “no issues” when two lanes of the interstate near the North Carolina-Tennessee state line opened on Saturday.
When Helene tore through in late September, four miles of the road were forced to shut down. Since then, NCDOT crews have worked to rebuild it.
Traffic is limited to one lane in each direction with a 35-mile-per-hour speed limit. Chris Burleson of Rockingham County traveled the reopened section over the weekend. “Traffic was flowing pretty well at 35 mph. You can tell where a lot of damage was done to the highway, or where the highway was washed out, as there are still a lot of trees down in the river and on the side of the road, but the DOT has done a good job of getting one lane of traffic open on both sides,” said Burleson.
Cameras through the entire Gorge — both sides of the state line — are active on www.DriveNC.gov. Drivers can see real-time screen captures of traffic conditions on I-40.
Repairs are far from over. NCDOT said it could take up to three years before I-40 is fully restored.
The original reopening date was scheduled for late 2024 but had to be postponed. Back in December, a large chunk of asphalt fell from one of the eastbound lanes of I-40 and into Pigeon Gorge. The damage, which the North Carolina Department of Transportation attributed to “wet weather and freeze-thaw conditions,” delayed the reopening of the busy interstate.
