The remnants of Hurricane Helene closed hundreds of roads in Western North Carolina. Slowly, but surely, many are being cleared and reopened. Others are going to take a lot longer to reopen.
North Carolina Department of Transportation has worked tirelessly over the past week to clear roads in weather-ravaged Western North Carolina where more than 200 roads were closed after downed powerlines and trees made some areas impassable, while other roads crumbled away into the rivers they were built alongside of. One of the major impacted routes? Interstate 40 at the North Carolina and Tennessee border.
A 43-mile stretch at I-40 will remain closed indefinitely until NCDOT and the Tennessee Department of Transportation can determine what needs to be done to rebuild the road that was swallowed by the Pigeon River.
“I-40 is closed in both directions [43 miles], between Exit 432 (US 25W/US 70/US 411) in Tennessee and Exit 20 (US 276) in North Carolina,” read the latest alert on Monday from NCDOT.
Along with I-40, Interstate 26 is still closed at the North Carolina and Tennessee border as well and will be for the foreseeable future.
When will roads reopen in Western North Carolina?
More than 1,600 department of transportation employees and contract crews from around the state have been deployed to the area with tools and supplies to help clear roads of debris and repair others where possible.
NCDOT has crews out over the weekend to continue to assess infrastructure damage in areas all over Western North Carolina. While much work still remains ahead for workers as they continue to clear debris, the “do not travel” warning that once was emboldened on the current road closure map has changed to “essential travel only.”
Progress in clearing main roads continues this week, but it could be months before all needed clearing and repairs are done, reports NCDOT.
Alternate routes around I-40 closure
While the major thoroughfare is closed for the foreseeable future, there are ways around it.
Interstate 81 offers a bypass to I-40. Those in the Northwest section of Western North Carolina, can look for a safe route to I-81 into Tennessee which connects with Interstate 77, providing an alternate route to other areas in North Carolina.
Those in the Southwest part of the state can still travel on part of Interstate 26, but sections of the road may be closed. People can also seek out safe routes to Interstate 85 and then head northbound to the Charlotte area.
Those south of Hendersonville can take U.S. 74 ALT to U.S. 74 East toward Shelby and then connect with I-85 to Charlotte and other points North and East.
U.S. 64 to U.S. 74 ALT just north of Hendersonville is impassable at this time due to landslides. The road is also impassable between U.S. 74 ALT and Slick Rock Road, according to NCDOT.
Current N.C. DOT Road closure map
There may be closed roads not listed on DriveNC.gov as many areas are not able to report at this time, according to NCDOT.
You can follow road closures at drivenc.gov.
What route can trucks over 30 feet take?
NCDOT has a route in place for larger trucks to navigate the closures at I-40 and Interstate 26. The department warns not use Google Maps, Waze or Apple Maps in the affected area. These apps are giving routes that trucks are getting stuck on.
Information on routes that can be used, can be found at NCDOT.gov/tims.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Road closure map Wester NC: Latest updates for the Asheville area
Source Agencies
