Repaired. Replaced. Reopened. Hit hard by Helene, this is what paved the way for these NC roads to come back.
by Lucas Thomae, Carolina Public Press February 19, 2025
Roads are being rebuilt and bridges resurrected, but motorists are still struggling to traverse Western North Carolina.
That may not be for much longer though, as the state’s transportation department is slowly but surely progressing with recovery efforts.
Tropical Storm Helene’s devastation included more than 600 roads and 800 bridges primarily in the western part of the state. The latest data from the N.C. Department of Transportation shows that 160 roads remain closed — 30 highways and 130 secondary roads.
The task of repairing and reopening North Carolina’s roadways after the severe storm has been a tall order for the transportation department, which maintains more than 80,000 miles of roads. That’s more than any other state except Texas.
Still, repair projects are moving along, and rather quickly considering the wide-ranging damage.
Last week, Gov. Josh Stein highlighted the progress during a press conference in the middle of a closed section of Interstate 40 near the Tennessee border. Stein declared the vital thoroughfare would be partially reopened on March 1.
The announcement corresponded with a visit from new U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who came to the area to survey the damage. Duffy’s visit was significant because North Carolina is hoping to secure more federal funds to help pay for storm recovery efforts. Helene was a $60 billion disaster, and so far the money allocated by the state and federal governments to pay for it has amounted to far less than that, Carolina Public Press has reported.
While the power to approve new funding lies primarily with Congress, Duffy has promised to support North Carolina’s reconstruction efforts and cut through “red tape” as transportation secretary.
“It is clear to me that (Duffy) intends to help,” Stein said in a statement after the visit.
One of the most crucial roads still out
The largest of the roads to still be closed is a section of I-40 that was washed away by the rising waters of the Pigeon River.
It’s a portion that stretches from the Tennessee border to exit 20 in Haywood County, near the town of Clyde. After five months of no traffic, one lane on each side of the interstate will reopen on March 1.
“Reopening these lanes will help reconnect North Carolina and Tennessee and allow us to welcome back visitors to bolster the economy,” Stein said.
The section could previously accommodate an average of 26,500 vehicles per day, according to the state transportation department. The department isn’t sure how many cars the two lanes will be able to handle once they are reopened.
Damage from Tropical Storm Helene along Old Toe River Road near Newland, seen on Oct. 17, 2024. Much of the road parallels the North Toe River. Colby Rabon / Carolina Public Press
However, alternate routes into Tennessee such as U.S. Route 25 have already been reopened and could ease congestion on that part of the interstate.
Meanwhile, Duffy revealed during his visit that the U.S. Department of Transportation acquired a special permit that will allow North Carolina to use rock from the Pisgah National Forest and extract construction materials from the nearby Pigeon River to help in the reconstruction process.
Allowing the state to do this, rather than transporting materials from up to 50 miles away, could significantly cut down on time and costs, Duffy said.
Expect delays
While the partial reopening of I-40 marks a major milestone, the storm’s damage extends far beyond that stretch of highway. Across North Carolina, affected roadways remain in various stages of repair with no clear end date in sight.
In total, the state transportation department identified a whopping 9,400 sites damaged by Helene, ranging from small back roads and culverts to larger highways and bridges.
So far, crews and contractors have completed repairs on about a quarter of the damaged bridges. However, 139 bridges still need to be entirely replaced.
Although crews have completed the emergency repairs needed for residents to access their neighborhoods, the state is still designing plans and awarding contracts for most permanent repairs of roadways.
While the state hopes to have all affected roadways reopened to motorists in the first half of this year, officials are not putting any hard deadlines on reconstruction plans.
“With so many sites, so many roads and so many variables, it’s impossible to hit a precise mark,” said David Uchiyama, a spokesman for the transportation department.
Down the road
While the total bill for Helene recovery is estimated to be $60 billion — with transportation infrastructure repairs comprising about $5 billion — the true cost won’t be realized until potentially years down the road. That’s when all the contracts have been awarded and the reconstruction projects completed.
The transportation department can’t pay for the needed repairs by itself, but isn’t strapped for cash either. A state audit released in January found that the agency significantly underspent during its previous annual budget and should be in a solid position to fund recovery efforts.
However, transportation officials are also asking both the state legislature and the feds to help with expenses.
Since the storm, the Federal Highway Administration has given $412.8 million to North Carolina across six waves of emergency relief funding. That money was used for repair projects including I-40 near the Pigeon River Gorge.
The state legislature approved nearly $1 billion in disaster relief across three spending bills last year.
After taking office, Stein requested more than $1.1 billion in additional relief from the freshly-convened General Assembly.
A spending bill that was recently filed by House Republicans proposed to allocate half the amount Stein requested.
SUMMARY: In Disney’s “Magic of Storytelling” podcast, Thumper discovers a robin’s egg after a storm. He and his four sisters—Trixie, Tessy, Daisy, and Ria—worry about the egg being cold and try to keep it warm with leaves. As they debate the best approach, they decide to find the mama robin for help. Meanwhile, Thumper and Daisy attempt to cheer the egg by singing and dancing. Eventually, the sisters return with a nest just as the mama robin arrives. The egg hatches, bringing joy to the bunnies as they celebrate their teamwork and caring efforts.
Thumper the bunny is hopping along one day and finds a special egg! Soon, he and his family are set out on an adventure to find the egg’s Mama.
Today’s round of questions, my smart-aleck replies, and the real answers:
Question: I’ve never been inside the UNC Asheville chancellor’s residence, but I’m told that it’s quite large and cost a pretty penny to build. Could you provide some details about the home? How large is it? How much did it cost to build? How much to maintain? How much land razed to build? Could it house some essential workers or be sold or redeveloped? Could it maybe become a museum to forests from long ago? After all, don’t chancellors earn enough to afford their own homes?
My answer: I’m pretty sure the 3,800-acre Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest near Robbinsville is our area’s actual tree museum, or at least a great display of old growth forest that gives an idea of what the area looked like before European settlement. Unless of course it’s already been logged under the new administration’s policies.
Real answer: UNCA spokesperson Brian Hart confirmed that Chancellor Kimberly van Noort does use the official residence, also known as the Pisgah House, as a home, as is required by the University of North Carolina university system. Specifically, he referred me to a section of the UNC policy manual and code titled, “Occupation of Official Residences of the Chancellors and the President.”
It states: “The Board of Governors reaffirms its expectation that the president of the university and the chancellors of each constituent institution will occupy their official residence and that these residences will be used for University business and functions.”
The policy also states, “that it is the policy of the Board of Governors that the president and the chancellors are required to live in their official residences as a condition of employment, except in the case where such a requirement would present a serious hardship; in any such case the president or chancellor must obtain approval from the Board of Governors, except that such approval will not be necessary if the residence is being vacated temporarily while repairs or renovations are being made.”
In June 2024, Asheville Watchdogreported on van Noort’s $300,000 base salary and perks, which include housing in the chancellor’s residence, “membership in a golf club with access to 16 courses in the Southeast, including the Country Club of Asheville, and a $900 monthly car allowance,” according to the article. That story also noted that beginning in 2025, van Noort was eligible for “incentive compensation” of up to 100 percent of her salary.
The university also pays for “utilities, maintenance, housekeeping, and groundskeeping services,” according to van Noort’s appointment letter. For the first four months of 2024, the utilities cost $3,193, then-UNCA spokesman Michael Strysick said.
The university also paid $3,458 for a security system, $13,754 for a heat pump, and $1,991 for “private property signage,” Strysick said last year.
Mountain Xpress noted in a 2014 article that the then-new $2.9 million, 6,333-square-foot chancellor’s residence had just opened and would serve as a residence but also a public space for special events.
“The two-story house replaces UNCA’s former home for its chancellor on Macon Avenue, a house that served that purpose since 1966. The university sold the home in 2007 for $600,000 and used that money, as well as private donations from about 150 people, to build the new structure,” Xpress reported.
Xpress also noted that the new home “sits on 2 acres of a 50-acre parcel of land across W.T. Weaver Boulevard from the main UNCA campus and close to the U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station.
Motorists traveling Interstate 26 in southern Buncombe County and in Henderson County will notice new lanes open for driving, including this spot just east of Airport Road, which now features four driving lanes. // Watchdog photo by John Boyle
Question: I am wondering why the speed limit in the newly constructed area of I-26 in Henderson County changes frequently between 55 mph and 65 mph within a short period of space. It occurs more frequently going east than it does coming west. Did NCDOT fail to remove the 55 mph signs or have folks improperly uncovered the 65 mph signs too soon?
My answer: I’m pretty sure 55 mph really means 70 to 75 mph to most North Carolina drivers, so let’s not split hairs here.
Real answer: “We are currently addressing the signs,” NCDOT spokesperson David Uchiyama told me Thursday morning. “They may be updated by the time this answer is published!”
Uchiyama said the 55 mph signs in Henderson County “should have all been removed, but a few still remain.”
For the record, the speed limit is 65 mph from exits 44-49, 60 mph from exit 44-40 and 55 mph in the Buncombe County workzone.
As someone who drives I-26 just about every day, I’ve got to say these new lanes that are open are a little slice of heaven. Gives you a feel for how the interstate will flow when the whole project is finished.
NCDOT announced April 9 the opening of the new lanes on the Henderson County portion of the I-26 widening, a separate project from the widening on I-26 in Buncombe County. The news release noted that the Henderson County portion is “functionally complete and in its final pattern with final punch-list remaining.”
The total project, which started in 2019 and includes sections in Buncombe and Henderson, should wrap up next year.
The NCDOT release noted that all of the new lanes on I-26 east heading to South Carolina were opened from Airport Road (Exit 40) to U.S. 64 (Exit 49) on April 5. The stretch includes four lanes of travel from Airport Road to U.S. 25 (Exit 44) and three lanes from there to U.S. 64 (Exit 49).
The punch list includes final grinding of the concrete surface, installation of permanent pavement markings, snow-plowable markers, the addition of rumble strips, finishing of signs and other tasks, according to the release. “Many of them will require overnight closures in certain sections to safely complete the tasks,” the release noted.
New lanes on I-26 west from Hendersonville opened April 10. This stretch has four lanes from U.S. 25 to Airport Road, three lanes from Airport Road to Long Shoals Road, and two lanes through the remaining construction zone up to Brevard Road.
In Buncombe County this week, work crews opened the eastbound stretch of I-26 from Long Shoals Road to Glenn Bridge Road to three lanes, and from the bridge over Glenn Bridge Road to four lanes, where it will connect with the recently opened four-lane section beyond Airport Road, according to the NCDOT release.
This stretch of road also has a punch list, including the installation of snow-plowable reflectors, fresh lane markings, and roadside signs. It also will require some night-time closures.
The NCDOT said opening this stretch “allows crews to concentrate on the northern half of I-26 widening in Buncombe County — the stretch from Long Shoals Road to Brevard Road. The northern stretch includes the creation of a new interchange, which was added to plans after the project started, that creates a new exit providing drivers with another route to Brevard Road by the North Carolina Arboretum.”
That exit largely is being built to accommodate the Pratt & Whitney jet engine fan blade plant.
The NCDOT said other tasks on the northern section of the I-26 project “will include completion of new westbound lanes, completion of the new Blue Ridge Parkway bridge and removal of the old bridge. NCDOT officials anticipate completing final operations in late 2026.”
It’s been a long slog, folks, but it’s getting there!
Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. Got a question? Send it to John Boyle at jboyle@avlwatchdog.org or 828-337-0941. His Answer Man columns appear each Tuesday and Friday. The Watchdog’s reporting is made possible by donations from the community. To show your support for this vital public service go to avlwatchdog.org/support-our-publication/.
www.thecentersquare.com – By Alan Wooten | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-17 15:09:00
(The Center Square) – Restrictions on K-12 students’ use of cellphones is in the Senate’s state budget proposal and in legislation originating in the state House of Representatives that has reached the Senate’s rules committee.
The outcome of negotiations for a budget between the Senate, House of Representatives and Gov. Josh Stein will determine what language, if any, comes forward and from where. The House has yet to release its two-year spending proposal.
And the cellphones in schools issue, if the House vote is an indicator, is agreed upon in General Assembly chambers holding significant Republican majorities.
The Center Square was unsuccessful getting response this week from House Speaker Destin Hall, R-Caldwell, and Senate Rules Committee Chairman Bill Rabon, R-Brunswick. Cell-Phone Free Education, known also as House Bill 87, passed the House 114-3 a day prior to going into the Senate Rules Committee.
The one-page House legislation says in part, “At the beginning of each school year, governing bodies of public school units shall notify parents of all students enrolled in the public school unit of the Cell Phone-Free Education Policy adopted under subsection (a) of this section.”
That subsection says, “Governing bodies of public school units shall adopt a cell phone-free education policy to eliminate or severely restrict student access to cell phones during instructional time.”
In the public instruction section of the Senate budget proposal, the language in part says governing bodies shall establish wireless communication policy, and sans exceptions, shall “prohibit students from using, displaying, or having a wireless communication device turned on during instructional time.”
Exceptions include teachers’ instructing use; as required by a student’s individualized education program; or to manage a student’s health care per documented medical conditions.
