A crew of over 300 workers has steadily made progress on massive repairs to Interstate 40 through the Pigeon River Gorge, with an emphasis on building something positively resilient.
It took a year just to build the 40-foot-wide causeway the North Carolina Department of Transportation's fleet of industrial vehicles traverses daily to work on the project.
The interstate above was completely closed for over five months after Hurricane Helene floods wiped out a section of eastbound I-40, causing over one million cubic yards of debris to crumble into the river.
"The size and severity of the repair is almost unprecedented," North Carolina Department of Transportation engineer Blake Soblesky said on a tour marking two years since the devastation took
place.
About 20% of the concrete fortifications along the seven-mile stretch has been completed, Soblesky said. A significantly smaller percentage of interlocking pipe piles, used to protect specific sections of the concrete walls in case another flood occurs, have been installed.
The project involves cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service to retrieve rock from Pisgah National Forest. Engineers then shape it to the project's needs using roller-impacted concrete, according to Division Construction Engineer Josh Deyton.
Costs for the project have have almost tripled since initial projections estimated at $1 billion for the critical trucking and passenger route through the Southern Appalachians. Officials told Knox News they don't see the $2.8 billion cost rising, since roughly 95 percent of the planning is now complete.
Once all lanes of the highway are operational in 2029, NCDOT plans to strip down its causeway and restore the river to its former shape, angles and depths, Soblesky said. This includes reconstructing specific rafting locations and boulders that are "iconic to the region."
For now, though, only one lane is open in both directions at a top speed of 35 mph for the route that averages daily traffic of 25,000 vehicles.
Anthony Nicotera covers public safety for Knox News. Email: anthony.nicotera@knoxnews.com
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: 'Unprecedented' I-40 Helene repairs will continue into 2029 - see the progress
