The aftermath of Hurricane Helene just keeps growing. Interstate 40, as the major route between North Carolina and Tennessee, can be added to the list of victims. A portion of I-40 on the Tennessee side of the border has collapsed. If a major interstate washout weren’t bad enough, local authorities have noted that a number of local bridges are gone, too.
Tennessee I-40—miles of closures
Tennessee’s Department of Transportation is moving as fast as possible to get repairs in place, but it could take months. It’ll take more than volunteers to put things right in the Volunteer State. Officials have closed some 14 state bridges along state routes. Five of the 14 are “completely gone” in the words of Will Reid, the department’s deputy commissioner. Those five bridges will need to be rebuilt from scratch.
As to Interstate 40, engineers from both states are still not sure how long it will take to repair the damages. The big slab is closed in both directions on the Tennessee side between mile markers 443 and 451 near the state line. West-bound traffic on the North Carolina side of the route is closed from marker 3 to Tennessee, and traffic is also closed west-bound from the state line to marker 435.
North Carolina’s Department of Transportation had its take on the matter. “In general, we’re going to prioritize the interstates and U.S. and North Carolina routes ahead of the secondary routes, but also we’ve got to look at how much damage we have, like … the one near the Tennessee line.” This from Joey Hopkins, the state’s Transportation director. “That’s a significant amount of damage and so even though it’s a top priority of ours, it will take a long time to fix that. We’re probably talking months at best. We’ve still got to evaluate that and do some assessments out there before we can determine what that solution is,” he added.
There are alternative routes to work-around the I-40 outage
If you’re in a hurry, here’s the Tennessee government suggestion. Interstate 81 offers a bypass to I-40. From Knoxville, head north on I-81, which connects with Interstate 26. It’s an alternate route to Asheville and other areas in North Carolina.
RVers might appreciate the slower, more scenic route. Take U.S. Route 11E, which runs parallel to I-40. 11E will eventually tie you into Interstate 26.
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For current Tennessee highway information, click here.
For information on North Carolina highways, click here.
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Thank you, Russ amd Tina! 🙂 I-40 in that vicinity was repaired not too long ago (<10 years ago?) and the repair took more than a year. This is even bigger than that, which was caused by a landslide. Eleven E is a nice road, often 4 lanes, but also numerous traffic lights. I guess we'll use US 74/US 64 to get into North Carolina if we take a notion to go there. Thanks again, have a great day, and safe travels! 🙂
Thanks for the alternate route info Neal, and thanks to Russ and Tina again, as always..
You are very welcome, Bill! 🙂 it gets you to Murphy, but I don’t know how those roads are beyond. It is an extremely scenic route, running along the Ocoee River where white-water events of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics occurred. Have a great day and safe travels, Bill! 🙂
You can add the Blue Ridge Parkway to the list of complete closures. All 400+ miles of it, for an indefinite length of time.