Waynesville, NC – A stretch of interest 40 through the mountains of western North Carolina is reopening to traffic this weekend, months later Hurricane Helene Historical floods collapsed portions of the road, partially restoring the main travel connection with East Tennessee.
The State Transport Department said that the 20 mile section (32 kilometers) on the side of the North Carolina border will officially return on Saturday. Floods in Pigeon River’s throat in Haywood County washed more than 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) of lanes east of the I-40 at the end of September.
Although it is generally a four -lane road, large parts of the section will work for now with only one narrow lane in each direction, with a speed limit of 35 mph (56 kph), according to the State Transport Department. A concrete curb separates traffic, and periodic breaks provide access to emergency vehicles.
Governor Josh Stein announced on February 10 That I-40 traffic would open again before March 1.
“This opening improves the flow of people, goods and services between our two states and between places far beyond Haywood County,” said Wanda Payne, Dot Regional Engineer, Wanda Payne in a press release this week. The statement said that travelers in the section of the I-40 should expect delays, especially on vacation weekends and Fridays, Saturdays and Sunday afternoon, and suggested that they still consider alternative interstate routes.
While the I-40 through the Tennessee line was reopened months ago for traffic almost to the North Carolina border, the single-lane sections will also extend to Tennessee to complete the connection, North Dot said.
The North Carolina government expected to restore traffic in I-40 in early January, but that was delayed when lanes asphalt to the east He fell in mid -December. The contractors worked to stabilize what remains of the road driving long steel bars to the mother rock under the road, filling them with grout and spraying concrete in the cliff to keep them in place.
The North Carolina government has already signed a contract for the permanent reconstruction of the road. The Secretary of Transportation, Joey Hopkins, told state legislators this week that it would be the late 2026 before the section can completely resume four lanes, provided that the stone can be extracted from the adjacent national forest of Pisgah. Otherwise, he said, he could take two more to three more years, because trucks will have to send stones from Tennessee.
