The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) is urging drivers to treat all roads in the western part of the state as closed after the damage caused by Hurricane Helene.
As of Monday morning, September 30, NCDOT reiterated that “all roads in Western North Carolina should be considered closed,” noting that many areas can’t report closures due to infrastructure failure, according to WBTV 3.
Interstate 40 remains “impassable” in several spots, and Interstate 26 is still closed at the Tennessee border. I-40 has been shut down from I-77 in Iredell County to Old Fort in McDowell County and is only accessible to emergency responders after severe flooding caused major damage.
Local 3 News reports that I-40 east and west is closed from mile marker 432 in Cocke County, Tennessee, to mile marker 3 in North Carolina. I-26 is closed in both directions from mile marker 37 in Erwin, Tennessee, to the North Carolina border in Unicoi County.
According to WATE 6 News, 27 sections of state roads are closed, 14 state bridges are shut down, and five state bridges have been completely destroyed.
“More than 1,600 NCDOT employees and contract crews are working with utilities to clear roads of debris, repair others where possible, and determine how to repair or replace roads more seriously damaged or destroyed,” a news release stated. “NCDOT crews from lesser impacted parts of the state have been deploying to the western part of the state since Friday and that will continue through the weekend. Those include crews who will be bringing in fuel, backhoes and front-end loaders to remove debris from mudslides, and chainsaw teams to cut and shove downed trees from roads.”
