Posted on 03/02/2025 6:50:15 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
Five months after Hurricane Helene severed a critical Appalachian freight corridor, a 12-mile stretch of Interstate 40 through North Carolina’s Pigeon River Gorge reopened Saturday.
Though still a construction zone, the highway is mostly operational. Its four lanes have been reduced to two, with the roadway held together by nails drilled deep into the mountainside. Tractor-trailers now thread between 9-inch concrete barriers as engineers continue their work.
Reopening that stretch of I-40 restores a vital freight corridor that supports both regional industries and national supply chains.
Before Hurricane Helene washed out a 4-mile stretch of I-40 connecting North Carolina and Tennessee in late September, this section of the highway served as a trucking route linking East Coast ports to Midwestern hubs.
Its closure disrupted shipments of everything from auto parts to produce from Tennessee, while stranding tourists headed for Asheville, where the hospitality industry generates over $2 billion annually.
State officials estimate the closure cost local businesses millions in lost revenue, underscoring I-40’s role as an economic lifeline for western North Carolina and beyond.
“You start thinking, ‘What the heck are we going to do?’ Because operational-wise, that’s where 90% to 95% of our trucks take that route every single day,” said Spencer Linn, vice president of East West Inc., a North Carolina-based family trucking company that transports auto parts nationwide.
The closure of I-40 forced Linn’s drivers to add nearly 300 miles to their routes, significantly cutting into revenue as they rerouted shipments to key destinations like Indianapolis, Chicago, and Kansas City.
Even with the highway reopening, Linn remains concerned about lingering challenges. “We believe that even when it opens there’s going to be a lot of logistical issues and a lot of delays with it being one lane,” he told CNN affiliate Spectrum News Charlotte.
(Excerpt) Read more at channel3000.com ...
“We’re about 10 to 12 percent into designing a permanent solution,” Tanner said.
“We are happy to have this open for the people who depend on a connected transportation system between North Carolina and Tennessee,” said NCDOT Division 14 engineer Wanda Payne.
What a difference a REAL president makes
One lane in each direction - 35 mph. Driving the gorge, especially at night, is not easy. If I were a trucker I think I would still do I-81/I-26.
We built the original freeway much quicker than that. We have devolved under the communists.
It’s better than nothing, but it IS going to take years for that part of NC to get back to ANY semblance of ‘normal.’ :(
Bump!
AMEN
Great news. The family vacationed in Gatlinburg, TN area. We would take a day trip to and fro Asheville, NC to visit the Biltmore. Glad to know we can do that agsin next time we are in the area.
Thanks for the reminder about The Biltmore. It’s on my Bucket List of gardens to tour.
Won’t be open until October, 2025 at the earliest.
Historic Biltmore Estate suffers ‘extensive’ damage in some places after Helene thrashes North Carolina
https://www.cnn.com/travel/biltmore-estate-damage-asheville-helene/index.html
Real pretty drive before that stretch of I-40 was obliterated by the hurricane - but even before that, one would have to contend with the occasional land-slide, including one that trapped some unlucky travelers in one of the tunnels.
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