This week, officials from the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) announced that restoring roads, bridges and other transportation infrastructure will cost approximately $5 billion.
David Uchiyama, NCDOT communications officer, said access has greatly improved across Western North Carolina. More than 1,100 roads have reopened since Hurricane Helene hit and there are currently less than 270 that remain closed across the entire region.
Uchiyama said that 8,795 locations have been identified as damaged as of last week. This includes 813 bridges and 852 culverts.
The current general estimate to restore roads, bridges and other transportation infrastructure is approximately $5 billion.
Uchiyama also discussed changes in traffic due to ongoing closures.
"I-40 West of Asheville is actually seeing less congestion than normal due to the closure in the Pigeon River Gorge. But east of downtown on I-240 East, congestion has increased due to the closure of Swannanoa River Road, as well as US-70," Uchiyama said.
Another contributing factor to this increase in congestion is 18-wheelers taking roads that are not designed for them. Uchiyama said they need to stick to approved routes.
I-40 at the Pigeon River Gorge remains closed and will stay closed until New Year's Day. Then, it will reopen with one lane in each direction. These lanes will be open for 18-wheelers.
NCDOT Division 13 Engineer Tim Anderson said crews have identified nearly 2,000 damaged locations in Buncombe County.
"Damage severity varies widely from a small site that may take half a day to repair to a major repair like a bridge replacement," Anderson said.
Source: WLOS, The Raleigh News & Observer
