By Richard Stradling
Interstate 26 reopened to traffic between North Carolina and Tennessee on Wednesday, as contractors finished a temporary causeway over the Nolichucky River in eastern Tennessee.
I-26 has been closed at the state line since floodwaters from the remnants of Hurricane Helene washed out two bridge spans that carried the highway over the river on Sept. 27.
The storm also washed out sections of Interstate 40 in the Pigeon River Gorge , severing the main highway link between the two states. The N.C. Department of Transportation has not set a timetable for reopening that stretch of I-40.
The collapsed spans of the I-26 bridge were close to the river bank. Rather than replace both spans at once, the Tennessee Department of Transportation created a temporary roadway by filling the area on the westbound side with 33,000 tons of stone and paving over it.
“Under normal processes, this work would have taken months,” said TDOT spokesman Mark Nagi. “But because this is such an important connection for East Tennesseans, we were able to think outside the box and get this back open in just a few weeks.”
When the eastbound bridge span is rebuilt, traffic will shift and the temporary road will be replaced with a new westbound bridge.
In the meantime, I-26 will be reduced to one lane where it crosses the Nolichucky in Erwin, Tennessee, about 40 miles from the state line. Vehicles more than 12 feet long with wide loads will be prohibited, and through trucks will continue to be sent on a detour using Interstates 81 and 77.
Interstate 40 remains closed west of Exit 20 in North Carolina. On the Tennessee side, where sections of the eastbound lanes were also washed into the river, I-40 is open to local traffic and deliveries only beyond Exit 440 and closed to all traffic at Exit 451.
