550+ roads still closed in NC mountains; Blue Ridge Parkway hit by 30+ rock, mudslides
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — As the North Carolina mountains continue to recover from Tropical Storm Helene flooding, state transportation officials said Friday about 670 roads were back open — but more than 500 are still closed.
Many of the roughly 570 roads still closed include Interstate 40 near Old Fort and downtown Asheville, along with Interstate 26 in Henderson and Polk counties.
This week, NCDOT crews made major progress in Chimney Rock , where crews restored the Rocky Broad River to its original channel near Main Street. The U.S. Army 101st Airborne helped with grading in Chimney Rock.
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"This is a significant milestone in rebuilding," Chimney Rock officials said about the work on Main Street, which is designated as U.S 74 Alt./U.S. 64 and N.C. 9.
In McDowell County, the key highway of N.C. 80, is still closed with several major slides and missing sections of the road. Several areas were heavily damaged on the winding route near Mount Mitchell and through Mount Mitchell State Park.
Meanwhile, the Blue Ridge Parkway remains closed in North Carolina and as of Friday there is no date set for the reopening.
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So far, along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina, workers have found tens of thousands of trees across the roadway and nearly three dozen rock and mudslides.
"The slides have occurred above and below the road and have also severely damaged or swept away the roadbed in numerous places," the National Park Service said in a news release.
Officials reminded travelers that the entire parkway in North Carolina is closed.
People trespassing not only endangers those entering closed areas but also slows recovery efforts, as crews must stop their work when individuals are present.
"One crew in North Carolina was forced to stop work over a weekend to evacuate an unauthorized user who was injured while in the park," the park service said.
Overall in North Carolina, there are more than 6,900 sites where roads and bridges are damaged, the NCDOT said.
Also, about 100 of the roads that are still closed in North Carolina are interstates, and state and federal highways.
"The number of road closures could rise as the state agency continues its assessment," officials said earlier this week.
A new road closure, N.C. 106, was just announced Friday after engineers found a deteriorated pipe more than 40 feet below the road during a check following Helene.
The road will be closed for four months between the Blue Valley Overlook and the Osage Overlook starting Saturday morning.
The damage and repairs will add about 20 minutes to a typical drive from Highlands to Dillard, Georgia.
