Nine state highways in western North Carolina still have sections closed two years after Hurricane HeleneOne of them, US 176 between Saluda and Tryon, will not reopen until at least the end of 2029.
Following the hurricane, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) recorded 1,618 road closures.
Today, their closure dashboard shows 15 still active. Twelve are on those nine highways, spread across eight counties, because some have more than one section closed. The other three are on roads managed by the National Park Service.
Most of the roads that Helene rendered impassable have now reopened. The NCDOT identified 9,469 damaged sites on its roads, and repairs are complete on more than 93% of them.
What remains, however, is the hardest thing to rebuild, and the biggest challenge now is “the magnitude and complexity of the repairs needed to get to the finish line,” David Uchiyama, the department’s communications manager for the western part of the state, told Enlace Latino NC .
Among the pending projects are the reconstruction of Interstate 40 through the Pigeon River Gorge and the roads through Gerton, Bat Cave, and Chimney Rock. Additionally, there are several roads in Yancey and Mitchell counties, Uchiyama explained.
And the NCDOT figures only count state highways.
The private roads and bridges that connect many rural homes to public roads depend on another state program, which It had more than 3,500 registered sitesBy the end of September, that program had completed 41 modular bridges and 107 road and culvert repairs, and had restored emergency access to 866 homes, according to the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management.
The works that are missing
The largest is in Haywood County, on I-40, the main route between western North Carolina and Tennessee. The historic flooding of the Pigeon River during Hurricane Helen severely damaged about five miles of the interstate.
But It reopened in early 2025 with a single lane in each direction. Between the interstate border and Exit 7, the speed limit is still 35 miles per hour.
The latest news on the project indicates that completing it will cost significantly more than anticipated. In September, the NCDOT increased the estimated cost The reconstruction cost is estimated at around $2,800 billion, $800 million more than it had estimated at the beginning of the year.
This is because new subsurface studies found bedrock at greater depths in some sections, requiring the use of longer steel piles. With this change, the department now estimates that the four lanes will not be open until late 2029.
“History shows us that I-40 in the gorge is vulnerable to flooding and failures, and failing to address those vulnerabilities now would cause the same damage at some point in the future,” NCDOT Division 14 engineer Wesley Grindstaff said in a statement.
Farther south, in Polk County, the wait is also measured in years. Since September 2024, a 1.1-mile stretch of US 176, the road that directly connected Saluda and Tryon, has remained closed. Those traveling between the two towns must detour via Interstate 26. There, Hurricane Helene damaged the road in 16 places along a narrow ravine through which the North Pacolet River flows.
In August, the NCDOT awarded a contract to Charlotte-based Blythe Construction. 32 million dollar contract to rebuild that section. Due to the nature of the work, the road will remain closed throughout the project, which is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2029.
In Hickory Nut Gorge, the situation is different. To reach Bat Cave, Chimney Rock, and Lake Lure, there is already a route open to all traffic, US 64 from Hendersonville, which the NCDOT reopened in March.
However, US 74A from Gerton and NC 9 north of Bat Cave remain open to residents only. Permanent reconstruction of the corridor will not be completed until 2029, the department said in July.
For communities still relying on detours or alternate routes, NCDOT assures that help can be provided. “Emergency access has been available to all communities since temporary repairs were completed, and even earlier in most locations,” Uchiyama said.
Before starting each project, he explained, the department coordinates with the county's emergency management team to ensure that construction crews allow emergency vehicles to pass.
The Blue Ridge Parkway closures
The NCDOT board also includes two closed sections of the Blue Ridge Parkway, between mileposts 333 and 355 in Mitchell, McDowell and Yancey counties, and a portion of Stoney Fork Road in Buncombe County.
“The Blue Ridge Parkway is not an NCDOT route. It is maintained by the National Park Service,” Uchiyama clarified.
That federal agency estimates it will complete all Parkway restoration projects by the end of 2026. The status of each section is updated daily on its website. closing page.
The cost of recovery
Recovering all the roads damaged by Helene would cost about $6,500 billion, a figure that Uchiyama considered "a reasonable estimate".
To cover that cost, the NCDOT has so far received $617.1 million in reimbursements from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and $372.3 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
In total it is $989.4 million, around 15% of the estimated cost.
The department will continue funding projects and seeking federal reimbursements for eligible expenses until the recovery is complete, Uchiyama said. However, he did not specify whether a funding gap exists that could delay pending work.
Road closures by road
- US 176, in Polk County, between Saluda and Tryon. The official detour is Interstate 26.
- Green River Cove Road, in Polk County, between Maybank Drive and Riversound Drive, closed for construction.
- US 74A, in Henderson County, between Bearwallow Mountain Road in Gerton and US 64 in Bat Cave. It is open to local traffic only.
- NC 9, in Buncombe and Henderson counties, between Carol Lane and US 74A, north of Bat Cave. It is open to local traffic only.
- NC 80, in McDowell County. It is impassable from the Yancey County line to Sugar Cove Road, east of the Blue Ridge Parkway, and only open to local traffic between Sugar Cove Road and Locust Cove Road.
- The I-40 exit 7 ramp eastbound to Cold Springs Creek Road in Haywood County.
- Diamond Creek Road, in Transylvania County, near NC 215, due to bridge damage.
- Horton Hill Road, in Yancey County, between Wolf Mountain Road and Fairview Cemetery Road.
- Hopewell Church Road in Watauga County is closed due to a damaged bridge at the intersection with Meat Camp Road. NCDOT advises taking Meat Camp Road to NC 194 and then returning to Hopewell Church Road.
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How to check the closures
To check the condition of a road before setting out, the closure board by Helene The NCDOT report is updated every 10 minutes. The location of each closure is shown in the "Active Incidents" tab at the bottom. For the rest of the state, real-time traffic information is available at [website address missing]. DriveNC.gov.
Both sites are in English, but the NCDOT has a Guide to enabling automatic browser translation and watch them in Spanish.
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