Federal and state employees are working together to reopen roads that were closed by Hurricane Helene.
The South Carolina Department of transportation (SCDOT) is putting $2 million from Federal Highway Emergency Relief funds to work repairing a road washout near Caesar’s Head State Park, according to South Carolina Secretary of Transportation Justin Powell.
Hurricane Helene shut down over 900 roads and bridges in the state, according to a press release from SCDOT. In upstate alone, there were 362 closures. All but 22 of those roads have reopened.
Acting Federal Highway Administrator Kristin White, who toured damaged in the state last week.
“We are committed to supporting South Carolinians with the funding and resources needed for ongoing recovery," White said.
In North Carolina, transportation officials said on Friday approximately 670 roads were back open, but over 500 are still closed.
Crews with the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) made major progress in Chimney Rock. They restored the Rocky Broad River to its original channel.
North Carolina Highway 80 in McDowell County is still closed with several major slides and missing sections of the road. Several areas were heavily damaged on the winding route near Mount Mitchell and through Mount Mitchell State Park.
The Blue Ridge Parkway remains closed and there is no date for it to reopen.
Overall, there are more than 6,900 sites where roads and bridges are damaged, the NCDOT said. About 100 of the roads that are still closed in the state are interstates, and state and federal highways.
Crews in Virginia began repairing State Route 623. A portion of the road has been turned into one lane after Hurricane Helene collapsed part of the road.
Eric Young, Tazewell County administrator, said the road is expected to be fixed in three weeks.
Hurricane Helene caused flooding and road washout in Buckingham County. Portions of Allens Lake Road gave out. The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) backfilled it with gravel. Now VDOT is looking for a permanent fix.
Source: Farmville Herald, WVVA, WGHP, WYRD
