The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has set a target date for the reopening of a busy interstate that has been closed for months due to damage from Hurricane Helene.
On February 10, NCDOT announced that I-40 in the Pigeon River Gorge near the Tennessee state line will reopen by March 1, 2025.
After the reopening, traffic will be restricted to just one lane in each direction with a 40 m.p.h. speed limit.
The news of the March 1 interstate reopening comes following a visit from new U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to survey the I-40 damage on February 10.
USDOT says that the reopening has been expedited due to a partnership with the U.S. Forest Service that will allow crews to use rock from Forest Service land and extract construction materials from the local river.
“This will allow the NCDOT to get construction materials from a nearby river, just 1 to 3 miles away, instead of transporting them from 20 to 50 miles away, a process that would have tripled both the cost and duration of the project. This permit is a commonsense solution to reduce the time it would take to rebuild the highway and significantly cut down on costs,” officials said.
“President Trump directed me to build infrastructure faster, better, and more affordably,” saidDuffy. “That is why, when we recently identified a path to reduce I-40’s construction costs and timeline by as much as two-thirds of the original Biden-era estimate, I immediately asked my team what we could do to help. Today’s announcement will help ensure we deliver this critical project more efficiently for the American people. Too often, the federal government creates obstacles that slow recovery and drive up costs. This time, we’re cutting through those burdensome barriers to get the job done, ensuring USDOT’s full support for our state partner’s success every step of the way throughout this project.”
I-40 at the North Carolina/Tennessee line was initially scheduled for reopening in January 2025 after the roadway sustained severe damage during Hurricane Helene in late September 2024, but a new collapse occurred in December 2024 that set back the timeline.