I-40 in North Carolina

[Tom958]

I-40 is closed in six places in western North Carolina due to flooding by Hurricane Helene. NCDOT claims it will reopen by 5 pm tomorrow but that seems unlikely in the Pigeon River gorge where at least one lane has collapsed into the river.
https://wlos.com/news/local/interstate-26-40-closed-flooding-mudslide-slide-helene-upward-road-asheville-buncombe-county

I think they'll need to build a bridge here, as they did on that section of US 231 south of Huntsville not long ago.

[architect77]

There goes NCDOT's budget for the next 2 years due to all of this new damage.

[Strider]

There goes NCDOT's budget for the next 2 years due to all of this new damage.

Yeah, unfortunately the repairs after the hurricane damage becomes priority over future projects. I can see a couple of them being postponed or moved so they can repair I-40, some bridges and other things.

[I-55]

There goes NCDOT's budget for the next 2 years due to all of this new damage.

Meanwhile the West Virginia Turnpike is looking at a short term budget increase due to the diverted traffic.

[wriddle082]

There goes NCDOT's budget for the next 2 years due to all of this new damage.

Yeah, unfortunately the repairs after the hurricane damage becomes priority over future projects. I can see a couple of them being postponed or moved so they can repair I-40, some bridges and other things.

I suppose at this point, the ongoing I-26 widening south of I-40 through Hendersonville won't be finished until 2030.  It seems like it started many years ago as a way to provide long term jobs for that area.

[LilianaUwU]

I guess I-74 will be completed in 2056 instead of 2054.

[cowboy_wilhelm]

The retaining wall that failed was built after the same spot collapsed 20 years ago during Hurricane Ivan. They'll have to tear out the median barrier, set portable barrier and get traffic in a one-lane configuration on the westbound side for a while.

[froggie]

There's a photo widely circulating of that collapse but I've also seen some people disputing that photo.  I myself have to question its validity due to the volume of traffic that is supposedly stopped just before the closure.

That said, NCDOT themselves (on their incident map) show 3 locations on I-40 northwest of Clyde that are listed as "long term closure", and have reported that one of those (near Milemarker 3) is due to a mudslide.

[Chris]

Here's a photo that NCDOT posted on their Facebook page.

[Plutonic Panda]

Ooooofffff.

[RoadMaster09]

There goes NCDOT's budget for the next 2 years due to all of this new damage.

Yeah, unfortunately the repairs after the hurricane damage becomes priority over future projects. I can see a couple of them being postponed or moved so they can repair I-40, some bridges and other things.

A lot of the money would probably come from federal disaster relief aid though.

[Road Hog]

I wouldn't trust that bank to support even a one-laner on the good carriageway. That will require a full concrete wall and fill.

[Rothman]

There goes NCDOT's budget for the next 2 years due to all of this new damage.

Yeah, unfortunately the repairs after the hurricane damage becomes priority over future projects. I can see a couple of them being postponed or moved so they can repair I-40, some bridges and other things.

A lot of the money would probably come from federal disaster relief aid though.

I was about to saw that Emergency Recovery funding does not count against a State's federal apportionments.

That said, you do run into a problem with a shortage of contractors, as they're pulled in to do the emergency work.

And, no, contractors from outside the area don't rush in to fill the void.  This is due to higher mobilization costs.  Rather than bid higher, the inconvenience rules the day.

[1995hoo]

Here's a photo that NCDOT posted on their Facebook page.

Some dipshit on Twitter claimed it was fake because there wasn't enough time for the DOT to get out there and block it off with a barrier like that. 

[The Ghostbuster]

Well, who asked him or her?

[kernals12]

The awesome power of Mother Nature is truly humbling.

[Strider]

There goes NCDOT's budget for the next 2 years due to all of this new damage.

Yeah, unfortunately the repairs after the hurricane damage becomes priority over future projects. I can see a couple of them being postponed or moved so they can repair I-40, some bridges and other things.

A lot of the money would probably come from federal disaster relief aid though.

It definitely will. Plus the donations from various businesses and the federal government, of course.

[rickmastfan67]

Here's a photo that NCDOT posted on their Facebook page.

Video of that area.  It's not just there, as the road a little closer to the tunnel is also partially gone.

[CanesFan27]

I have on my list to overhaul/update this article (when soccer is done probably) but this gives some additional insight in I-40 in Western NC.

Some of the politics into why it's routed the way it is, how NC moved lanes closer to the river in the 70s and 80s due to the more frequent occurrence of rockslides, and how a rock slide shut down the highway not longer after it opened.

http://www.gribblenation.org/2009/11/i-40-rockslide-uncovers-old-debates-on.html

[ixnay]

Here's a photo that NCDOT posted on their Facebook page.

Where is that location?

[rickmastfan67]

Here's a photo that NCDOT posted on their Facebook page.

Where is that location?

Here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/bXXFDovb68ExNjk38

[ixnay]

Here's a photo that NCDOT posted on their Facebook page.

Where is that location?

Here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/bXXFDovb68ExNjk38

Thanks.

Can't believe so many miles of I-40 are closed.  I was on that entire stretch as part of a bus group back in 2017.  We stayed two nights in Asheville (we visited the Biltmore) before going on to Memphis (we did Graceland) and stopping in Nashville on the way back east, going to the Opry.  So what's happening now in WNC resonates with me, having been there.  Prayers up for all the affected.

[froggie]

There goes NCDOT's budget for the next 2 years due to all of this new damage.

Yeah, unfortunately the repairs after the hurricane damage becomes priority over future projects. I can see a couple of them being postponed or moved so they can repair I-40, some bridges and other things.

A lot of the money would probably come from federal disaster relief aid though.

True.  But speaking from personal experience, there's usually a lag in that federal disaster funding actually being delivered.

[webny99]

There goes NCDOT's budget for the next 2 years due to all of this new damage.

Yeah, unfortunately the repairs after the hurricane damage becomes priority over future projects. I can see a couple of them being postponed or moved so they can repair I-40, some bridges and other things.

A lot of the money would probably come from federal disaster relief aid though.

True.  But speaking from personal experience, there's usually a lag in that federal disaster funding actually being delivered.

And, it will still ultimately end up pulling time and resources from other projects even if it doesn't pull funding.

[Rothman]

There goes NCDOT's budget for the next 2 years due to all of this new damage.

Yeah, unfortunately the repairs after the hurricane damage becomes priority over future projects. I can see a couple of them being postponed or moved so they can repair I-40, some bridges and other things.

A lot of the money would probably come from federal disaster relief aid though.

True.  But speaking from personal experience, there's usually a lag in that federal disaster funding actually being delivered.

We're talking "ER" funds, though.  I've yet to experience the "lag" of just putting in the requests for ER reimbursement after a federal declaration is made to affect NY's overall funding, anyway.