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Ravaged by Helene, I-40 in North Carolina to reopen, with limits

1 lane each way, which Tennessee already had; trucks are OK, wide loads aren’t

John Kingston
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Sections of Interstate 40 in North Carolina, hit by Hurricane Helene, will reopen this weekend. (Photo: NCDOT)

Key Takeaways:

  • I-40, closed since Hurricane Helene, will partially reopen this weekend between exits 7 and 447, with one lane open in each direction.
  • Restrictions include a 35 mph speed limit, narrowed lanes, and a ban on wide loads; full restoration will take years.
  • North Carolina has initiated a fast-track construction contract to expedite permanent repairs.
  • Limited access to services exists near the reopened portion of the highway in the work zone.
Key takeaways sponsored by SONAR

Eastbound and westbound passage on Interstate 40 straddling the North Carolina-Tennessee border, restricted since Hurricane Helene ripped through the region in October, will resume this weekend.

The stretch of highway that will now be open is between Exit 7 in North Carolina – Cold Springs Creek Road – and Big Creek Road, Exit 447, in Tennessee.

North Carolina also said only one lane will be open in each direction between exits 15 and 20.

The states had hoped to open limited service on the road in early January; that was delayed because of further deterioration.

According to a press release from the Tennessee Department of Transportation in conjunction with the North Carolina announcement, the Volunteer State’s portion of I-40 had already been open in each direction soon after the hurricane, between mile markers 446 and 451 in that state.

What are normally the westbound lanes will reopen as a two-lane highway, North Carolina said in its release. The state also provided a list of several restrictions on the road.

Among them: Lanes will be narrower than usual, and there will be shoulders that are reduced in size; the speed limit will be 35 mph; there will be a 9-by-9-inch concrete curb separating the two lanes; the eastbound road, which continues to undergo repairs, will have an emergency-only lane; and while a full tractor trailer is able to drive on the highway, no wide loads will be permitted. 

Tennessee, in its statement, also noted that none of the exits in the work zone have “easy access” to gas stations or convenience stores.

Full restoration of the highway is still being talked about in terms of years. North Carolina’s statement touted that the state has entered into a Construction Manager/General Contractor contract for the permanent reconstruction of the highway. Ames Construction was identified as the contractor, RK&K is the designer and HNTB is the project manager.

“This type of contract accelerates the timeline and reduces costs by having the contractor and designer work side-by-side as the project progresses,” the state said in its statement.

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John Kingston

John has an almost 40-year career covering commodities, most of the time at S&P Global Platts. He created the Dated Brent benchmark, now the world’s most important crude oil marker. He was Director of Oil, Director of News, the editor in chief of Platts Oilgram News and the “talking head” for Platts on numerous media outlets, including CNBC, Fox Business and Canada’s BNN. He covered metals before joining Platts and then spent a year running Platts’ metals business as well. He was awarded the International Association of Energy Economics Award for Excellence in Written Journalism in 2015. In 2010, he won two Corporate Achievement Awards from McGraw-Hill, an extremely rare accomplishment, one for steering coverage of the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster and the other for the launch of a public affairs television show, Platts Energy Week.