Interstate 40 from NC into Tenn. to open on March 1, governor says
The critical stretch of road has been closed for more than four months due to damage from Hurricane Helene.
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Folks coming here from Tennessee continue to say signage over there is confusing, causing even longer delays along a stretch that normally carries 26K vehicles per day including mucho cargo.
According to NCDOT Communications Officer David Uchiyama, crews have been working at a swift pace on the reconstruction effort over the past 126 days. In that time, they have used 530 cubic yards of shotcrete, or sprayed concrete, in order to reconstruct the vertical surface of the roadway leading down to the gorge.
They have also used soil nails — 20-foot long metal bars — to strengthen the roadway and lessen the chance of erosion in the future.
The average rate of production for soil nails is 1,000 square feet per week, Uchiyama said, but the NCDOT crews used four drill rigs at the same time, upping their output to 90,000 square feet over 18 weeks.
