(The Center Square) – Emergency funding of $1.15 billion for repairs needed because of Hurricane Helene one year ago will be part of Friday’s update on Interstate 40.
Sean McMaster, administrator for the Federal Highway Administration, will be with first-term Democratic Gov. Josh Stein at a morning briefing. I-40, major artery from Asheville to Knoxville, Tenn., lost two lanes into the Pigeon River about 4 miles away from the state line impacting a 20-mile stretch of the mountain.
The record amount awarded is coming from the Federal Highway Administration’s Emergency Relief Program.
“President Trump promised no North Carolinian would be left behind,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy. “This historic investment in the recovery effort is just one of many actions my department has taken to support the region. Since January, we’ve toured the damage, slashed red tape, and expedited the I-40 highway rebuild. We will not rest until the communities devasted by Hurricane Helene are made whole again.”
Helene caused an estimated $60 billion in damages, killing 107 in North Carolina and 236 in the South. The storm made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in Dekle Beach, Fla., on Sept. 26. It dissipated over the mountains of the state and Tennessee, dropping more than 30 inches in some places and over 24 consistently across more.
Earlier in the year, Duffy said the North Carolina Department of Transportation would get $400 million in emergency relief funding.
While the full reopening of I-40 remains distant, a partial reopening earlier in the year was disrupted by flooding. Both directions have regained limited access.
