Hundreds of North Carolina roads remain washed out

By Mike Lee | 10/09/2024 01:52 PM EDT

State officials have not yet begun to estimate the cost of repair.

A sign lies in the remains of a road in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

A sign lies in the remains of a road in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene on Oct. 3 in Pensacola, North Carolina. Mike Stewart/AP

Hundreds of roads remain closed in western North Carolina, including a major cross-country truck route, nearly two weeks after Hurricane Helene touched off a string of floods and landslides.

About 460 roads have been reopened since the storm, but 610 were still closed as of Tuesday and at least 100 bridges will need to be replaced. Interstate 40 remains closed indefinitely near North Carolina’s border with Tennessee, although it’s open to traffic in other parts of the state, said North Carolina Department of Transportation spokesperson David Uchiyama.

State officials have not yet begun to start tallying the cost of repairs. “Nobody could hazard a guess” on the cost, Uchiyama said.

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The Federal Highway Administration has sent $132 million in emergency funds to the area, but the agency acknowledged it was a “down payment” on future repair costs.

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