Latest news with #I40
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Flooding and rock slides close heavily damaged I-40 section in Smoky Mountains
HARTFORD, Tenn. (AP) — Heavy rain, flooding and a rock slide have again closed a section of the major cross country highway Interstate 40 along its narrow corridor through the Great Smoky Mountains with engineers expecting the road closed for at least two weeks. The slide and flood happened Wednesday afternoon around mile marker 450 in Tennessee, just to the west of the state line with North Carolina, the Tennessee Department of Transportation said on social media. Engineers have found significant damage on both the highway and nearby ramps which was more extensive than originally thought, Republican Tennessee Rep. Jeremy Faison said on social media. 'Several areas remain under water, and there are potentially compromised slopes. Geotechnical engineers are on-site today to assess the stability of those slopes,' wrote Faison, who represents the area. Tennessee transportation officials estimate it will take at least two weeks to drain the water, make sure the slopes are safe and repair the highway. The damaged section is part of 12 miles (19 kilometers) of I-40 in North Carolina and Tennessee that was washed away or heavily damaged by flooding that roared through the Pigeon River gorge during Hurricane Helene in late September. Crews repaired and shored up enough of the old highway to open one narrow lane in each direction in March. The lanes are separated by a curb several inches high that had to be removed to let vehicles stuck by the flooding and rockslide to turn around and go the other way. About 2.5 to 3.5 inches (63 mm to 89 mm) of rain fell in the area over about three hours, according to the National Weather Service. The permanent fix to stabilize what's left of the road will involve driving long steel rods into bedrock below the road, filling them with grout and spraying concrete on the cliff face to hold them in place. It will take years. I-40 runs from Wilmington. North Carolina to Barstow, California, and any detour around the Great Smoky Mountain section is dozens of miles. Trucks have gotten stuck on twisty narrow mountain roads and are banned on another major highway through the area U.S. 441 through Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The official detour takes drivers heading east on I-40 up Interstate 26 at Asheville, North Carolina, to Johnson City, Tennessee, and then south down Interstate 81 back to I-40.
The Independent
13 hours ago
- Climate
- The Independent
Smoky Mountains I-40 corridor may be closed for weeks following flooding and rock slides
A major Tennessee interstate that runs through the Great Smoky Mountains may be closed for weeks following flooding and rock slides. It will take around two weeks to clean up and repair the damage left on the I-40 near the Tennessee and North Carolina border Wednesday, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel. A series of four rockslides and flooding brought rocks, trees and muddy water. No deaths or serious injuries were reported, but cars and trucks were left stuck in the debris-filled water. As of Thursday, only an 18-wheeler was left on the I-40, the Sentinel reported. Tennessee state Representative Jeremy Faison wrote on X Thursday morning, 'The damage is more extensive than @myTDOT initially anticipated. Significant impacts have been identified on both the interstate and the ramps. As of this morning, several areas remain under water, and there are potentially compromised slopes. Geotechnical engineers are on-site today to assess the stability of those slopes.' Will Reid, chief engineer for the Tennessee Department of Transportation, said at a Thursday press conference that it will cost an estimated $500,000 to clean up and repair the road, per the Sentinel. The damaged road is part of 12 miles of I-40 that was wrecked by flooding as Hurricane Helene ripped through North Carolina and Tennessee last September, The Associated Press reported. "We're still in trauma,' Cocke County Mayor Rob Mathis said at Thursday's press conference, adding that Tennesseans' 'ears are still ringing from eight months ago.' Crews are still fixing the damage caused by Hurricane Helene, which will continue alongside the rockslide cleanup, the Sentinel reports. "When that first call went out, immediately it was like, 'Oh no, not again.' But then, within a half a second later of that it was, 'OK, let's do this.' And that's what we do. Whatever the challenge is, we're going to face it together, head on. And we're going to overcome it,' Mathis said.
Associated Press
a day ago
- Climate
- Associated Press
Flooding and rock slides close heavily damaged I-40 section in Smoky Mountains
HARTFORD, Tenn. (AP) — Heavy rain, flooding and a rock slide have again closed a section of the major cross country highway Interstate 40 along its narrow corridor through the Great Smoky Mountains. The slide and flood happened Wednesday afternoon around mile marker 450 in Tennessee, just to the west of the state line with North Carolina, the Tennessee Department of Transportation said on social media. Crews continued to work Thursday to get the water and rock off the highway and had not released when they think the road could be reopened, the DOT said. The flooded section is part of 12 miles (19 kilometers) of I-40 in North Carolina and Tennessee that was washed away or heavily damaged by flooding that roared through the Pigeon River gorge during Hurricane Helene in late September. Crews repaired and shored up enough of the old highway to open one narrow lane in each direction in March. The lanes are separated by a curb several inches high that had to be removed to let vehicles stuck by the flooding and rockslide to turn around and go the other way. About 2.5 to 3.5 inches (63 mm to 89 mm) of rain fell in the area over about three hours, according to the National Weather Service. The permanent fix to stabilize what's left of the road will involve driving long steel rods into bedrock below the road, filling them with grout and spraying concrete on the cliff face to hold them in place. It will take years. I-40 runs from Wilmington. North Carolina to Barstow, California, and any detour around the Great Smoky Mountain section is dozens of miles. Trucks have gotten stuck on twisty narrow mountain roads and are banned on another major highway through the area U.S. 441 through Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Westbound lanes on I-40 closed due to accident
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — All westbound lanes on I-40 have been closed due to an accident, according to a Memphis Police Traffic Alert. Officers are on the interstate after an accident has led to all of the westbound lanes of I-40 and N. Hollywood being blocked. At this time, the number of cars involved in the accident is unknown. There has also been no word about whether anyone has been injured. We will update this story as more information becomes available. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Damaged section of I-40 sees first traffic spike since reopening in March
HARTFORD, Tenn. (WATE) — With the long holiday weekend coming to an end, thousands took to the roads Monday to either kickstart their summer vacation or make their way back home. Regardless, Interstate 40 saw a healthy dose of traffic throughout the day, including an area still recovering from the remnants of Hurricane Helene. For a time on Monday, the section of I-40 reduced to a single lane in each direction was extremely backed up. The Memorial Day holiday weekend provided the first major spike in traffic the road has seen since the road reopened in March. Black bear found in Bell County, Kentucky home Around 5:00 p.m. Monday, the eastbound lane of I-40 in Tennessee was sitting at a standstill for close to 30 minutes as traffic was forced to merge into a single lane heading toward the state line. As for westbound traffic, it was smooth sailing near the Hartford exit, but it wasn't always that way for people coming from the Carolinas. 'I'm glad it's open, it was a little slower than I would hope but that's alright,' Jim Woodbridge, who was heading back home to Michigan after attending the NASCAR race in Charlotte over the weekend. 'This was worse than the traffic I encountered down there. We went down about a week early and I left mid-morning today,' Woodbridge said. 'My daughter was up from Atlanta and she's back home already.' Gold Star Father shares about his veteran son while taking the last Smoky Mountain Thunder Memorial Ride This was Woodbridge's first time driving on this stretch of road since it reopened following Helene. The damage was nothing like he has ever seen. 'I want to say awesome, but in a bad way. The devastation, you can see all of that. I'm glad it wasn't life and limb in those down the creek, down the river,' Woodbridge explained. 'Those guys have a lot of work to do to get it back.' While there is no timeline for when all lanes will be re-opened, according to the Tennessee Department of Transportation's website, traffic is currently down to one lane in either direction for approximately 12 miles. They add, there are no exits for gas stations or convenience stores within that stretch and speeds will be posted between 35 and 40 miles per hour. In other words, expect delays during the summer driving season. Three adults, three children rescued after watercraft hit a tree on Pigeon River Woodbridge also told 6 News he was hoping the weather would be a little bit better so he could see the Smoky Mountains. He added that he plans on getting home in the next day and a half or so. The work zone extends from mile marker 446 in Tennessee to roughly mile marker 7 in North Carolina. Keep in mind, you can still take I-81 North to the Tri-Cities and then I-26 South to Asheville to avoid any possible delays. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
