I-40 wiped out in Tennessee and North Carolina: What are the alternate routes to avoid Helene damage?

The devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene has been heart wrenching. The tropical cyclone slammed into the Big Bend of Florida as a Category 4 storm on the night of Thursday, September 26. It continued inland over the Appalachian Mountains leaving a 500-mile path of destruction that has been described as “biblical.”

Some of the worst hit places were in eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina where the torrential rains of the tropical cyclone were preceded by a predecessor rain event (PRE). Over a three-day period at least one area received over 2.5 feet of precipitation and wide swaths received over 12 inches.

The mountainous terrain channeled the deluge into literal inland tsunamis that wiped out entire communities and left residents in many areas of eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina cut off from the outside world. Besides power and internet infrastructure being destroyed, numerous roads and bridges were laid to waste by the rushing water.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) says that all roads in the western part of the state “should be considered closed to all non-emergency travel.” Only local and hurricane response traffic is permitted in the area.

People can use I-40 east or I-26 east to evacuate the Asheville area but there is no way to get to Tennessee via either of those freeways. While crews are making progress, it is expected to take months to fix all of the damage incurred.

How to get around Helene damage to I-40 and I-26

NCDOT has proposed alternate routes to get around the damage from Helene. For those trying to get to Tennessee, they should use I-77 North to I-81 South. And those going to South Carolina should use I-77 South to I-85 South.

There are currently over 500 active incidents NCDOT is working to resolve across the state. You can check which roads to avoid on the DriveNC webpage and toggling the Hurricane Helene tab under Map Filters.

Mark Nagi, the regional communications officer for the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT), advised travelers who are trying to reach North Carolina from his state to follow I-81 North to Virginia and take I-77 South to North Carolina.

TDOT posted an update on social media Tuesday of the progress crews have made so far in assessing the damage after 100 hours from the event. 25 routes have already been repaired of the 47 that were assessed.

All 310 state bridges have been inspected. Seven of the eight that were closed are now open, but five bridges have been completely destroyed. “We anticipate hundreds of millions of dollars in damage and months of closures,” TDOT said. The agency has provided a map with details of the road closures on its website.