I-40 in Cocke County at the Tennessee-North Carolina state line is expected to be reopened to traffic by New Year’s Day, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) announced Tuesday.
Portions of I-40’s eastbound lanes were washed away by flood waters when the Pigeon River rose to historic levels due to Hurricane Helene in late September.
A lot of people have been asking us about the I-40 TN/NC connection. Read this important update here from NCDOT: https://t.co/vPEQBblWDt
— myTDOT (@myTDOT) November 5, 2024
Since the hurricane, the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) has worked to open I-40 to “re-establish connection for local traffic” to the Hartford Road Exit at Mile Marker 447 and Waterville Road Exit at Mile Marker 45. However, the 9-mile stretch of the gorge connecting Tennessee and North Carolina remains closed.
NCDOT said it is working to stabilize the 9-mile stretch and open up enough space for vehicles to travel at 40 mph on one lane in each direction.
The temporary project to restore traffic is expected to be completed by January 1, 2025 – which would be just shy of 100 days since the hurricane devastated the interstate.
“We are working to open I-40 when it is safe, and it will be tight conditions for everybody. But if everybody is patient, everybody can get through,” NCDOT’s Division 14 Engineer Wanda Payne said in a statement.
“Opening one lane in both directions reestablishes critical connectivity for the transport of goods and services to and through mountains,” Payne added. “Like many things in our area, it will not be like it was for a long time, but it will be better than we’ve had in recent weeks.”
While NCDOT works to restore traffic to I-40, all thru traffic to North Carolina from the Volunteer State should follow I-26 East or I-81 North to I-77 South in Virginia to North Carolina.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
