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From Staff Reports
WAYNESVILLE — Interstate 40 in Haywood County (between here and the Tennessee state line) may reopen by New Year’s Day, although travel through the Pigeon River Gorge “will be a bit slower than usual,” according to a press release from the N.C. Department of Transportation.
With more than a mile of the eastbound lanes of I-40 washed away by Tropical Storm Helene, traffic will be confined to a single lane in each direction on the westbound side, NCDOT noted.
The lanes will be 11 feet wide, a foot narrower than the interstate standard, so the speed limit will be 40 mph.
The timing of the reopening hinges on when contractors can finish stabilizing the westbound lanes and installing a concrete barrier down the middle, NCDOT stated.
The $8.5 million stabilization contract set a completion date of Jan. 4. NCDOT said it has determined that using the westbound lanes for traffic will leave enough room for contractors to rebuild the damaged and missing eastbound lanes.
In a written statement, Wanda Payne, NCDOT’s Division 14 engineer, stated:
“We are working to open I-40 when it is safe, and it will be tight conditions for everybody. But if everybody is patient, everybody can get through.” I-40 will be narrowed to one lane in each direction for nine miles — five in North Carolina and four in Tennessee, which also lost sections of eastbound lanes.
“Tennessee converted its four miles to two-way traffic last month, though the highway was open only to the last exit in the state.
“It’s not clear yet how long the two-way traffic pattern will remain in place. NCDOT has identified a team of contractors to design and build the eastbound lanes, but they have not yet settled on a strategy.”
“Everybody has been coming up with ideas, and all good solutions are still on the table.
“We will collaboratively choose the best long-term solution.” The swollen Pigeon River scoured its banks on Sept. 27 and undermined the eastbound lanes of I-40 in about 10 places in North Carolina and several more in Tennessee....”
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