Damage from Hurricane Helene to interstates between North Carolina and Tennessee includes washed-out roads and bridges, landslides and extensive flooding—creating a long list of repair work needed for state transportation agencies as they prepare to rebuilding critical highways across the Appalachian Mountains.

The North Carolina Dept. of Transportation is gearing up to make emergency repairs to hard-hit Interstate-40, with emergency shoring work expected to start within a week, according to agency spokesperson David Uchiyama.

The DOT continues to assess the condition of major roadways in the western part of the state damaged by the storm—reporting hundreds of closed roads, mainly due to flooding, as well as landslides and mudslides, downed power lines, pipe failures and fallen trees.

The interstate is impassable in multiple locations, and repairs will take some time, Uchiyama says. From the Tennessee line, its two eastbound lanes are either completely or partially washed away and there are at least three other damaged locations in an 11-mile stretch leading to Exit 15. 

Along with agency and Federal Highway Administration officials, state engineers viewed the extensive damage along I-40 in the Pigeon River Gore on Sept. 30, Uchiyama adds, with DOT staff making a return visit on Oct. 1 to begin emergency shoring plans to prevent additional damage. 

Those operations are expected to begin within the week, he says, with agency Division 14 staff revisiting the site to begin planning those operations. 

Interstate-26 is closed on the Tennessee side of the state line. 

Communications and access issues are hampering highway agency ability to collect and disseminate information, but it estimates as many as 400 closed roads in Western North Carolina as of Oct. 1 afternoon, Uchiyama says. Officials are working to improve that connectivity via first responder VIPER towers, satellite phones and portable radios, he adds, and the state DOT is coordinating with providers on mobile cell towers. 

The damage is severe enough that the state continues to tell drivers that all roads in the region should be considered closed except for an emergency. 

The Tennessee transportation department reported ovt. 1 that two bridges on Interstate 26, between mile markers 39 and 40 in Unicoi County, were impassable due to two bridges destroyed by flood waters. According to an agency post on X, formerly Twitter, crews hauled 58 loads of debris from just that area of I-26. 

The agency is prepping contracts for repair work as it continues assessing damages and removing debris from roadways, reporting in a Sept. 29 update it is taking these jobs on a case-by-case basis, prioritizing community connectivity.

“We’ve had a tremendous amount of bridges, both on our system as well as the locals, that have been impacted here, and that is the biggest risk area that we are putting a lot of resources to,” said Will Reid, agency deputy commissioner and chief engineer.

Fourteen state-owned bridges on state routes were closed as of the Ovt. 1 update, with five completely gone, he says, as assessment efforts continue so that the agency can complete ground work necessary to prepare contracts for repair work.

There’s no projected date to reopen Interstate 26, but Tennessee officials plan to deliver some contracts “in an alternative means,” Reid said.

“What that means is we won’t take as much time to do a full set of design plans, we will engage the private sector very quickly with a limited amount of information to be able to get that work started as soon as we can,” he explained, adding that he’s been in touch with states like Florida to learn how they respond quickly to similar storm damage. “We are using everything at our disposal, as well as some from our neighbors to be able to move as quickly as we can.” 

Reid said projected completion dates should come soon but cautioned that rebuilding washed-away bridges from scratch will take some time.