Skip to main content

Landslide closes I-40 in Haywood County, NC

Some big news this week as a rock slide at Interstate 40 just inside North Carolina near the Tennessee line has closed the highway indefinitely.

The rock side occurred at around 2 am on Sunday, October 25th. Two vehicles and an 18 wheeler were damaged as a result but fortunately no major injuries or fatalities were reported.

Story: Rock slide forces closure of I-40 in Haywood County --WSPA

NCDOT immediately issued a detour for Interstate traffic. The official detour is:

Motorists traveling on I-40 West are advised to take I-240 West, Exit 53B. Follow I-240 West to Exit 4A, I-26 West. Follow I-26 West (a North Carolina Scenic Highway) to I-81 South. Take I-81 South and follow back to I-40, Mile Marker 421, in Tennessee. This route is 53 miles longer than I-40.

Those coming from Tennessee into North Carolina are advised to follow the same route but in reverse.

Another alternative for travelers to/from Winston-Salem, NC and points East
.

From Winston-Salem. Take US 52 North to I-74 West (To I-77) in Mt. Airy. Follow I-74 West to I-77 North. Take I-77 North into Virginia and I-81 in Wytheville. From there, I-81 South from Wytheville to I-40 West near Knoxville.

If you are heading from Tennessee, follow the directions in reverse.

This route (minus stops) will only add about 10-15 minutes to your trip.

NCDOT has traveler updates available here.

Removal of the debris and temporary reconstruction could take three months if not longer. The rock slide was triggered at the top of a hillside most likely triggered by decades worth of freezes and thaws on the landscape.

The removal process will first clear rocks from the bottom (I-40 pavement) and middle areas of the slide. This will also include some blasting of large boulders - some the side of small homes. These small rocks and other fill will be used to construct a ramp that will allow heavy equipment by way of a pulley system to the top of the slide. Once that is done, the equipment will remove the boulders from the top of the slide to the bottom.

After that is completed, temporary pavement will be placed on the highway, and I-40 will be re-opened. Permanent pavement along with reconstruction of a retaining wall and other safety walls will continue in the spring. Improving safety features and strengthening of the hillside will most certainly be an ongoing process.

Story: Engineers develop plan to clear I-40 rock slide ---WRAL-TV

There are already concerns that the clean-up and closure could take longer than three months. A definite timetable has yet to be established by the DOT. In addition, winter is forthcoming and depending on how much freeze/thaw, snow or ice, and other factors could trigger more slides further delaying the process.

Story: Clearing rock slide could take longer than expected ---WRAL-TV

Be sure to follow the Asheville Citizen-Times for updated coverage on the rock slide.

Interstate 40 through this area of North Carolina is very rugged and is one of the most dangerous and damage-prone stretches of Interstate within North Carolina, and the entire interstate system.

In July 1997, a rock slide closed the Interstate for three months. In 2004, as a result of Hurricane Ivan, nearly 150 feet of eastbound I-40 eroded into the Pigeon River closing the highway for months. Another slide in 1985 closed the Interstate for nine months.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

When did people begin to refer to the "Ridge Route" as "The Grapevine?" (former US Route 99 and Interstate 5)

The segment of US Route 99 from Los Angeles north to Bakersfield was traditionally known in State Highway documents as the "Ridge Route."  Even as the Ridge Route was transitioning from curvy mountain grade to the facility now occupied by Interstate 5nthe name largely persisted in California Highways & Public Works documents.  During modern times the name "Ridge Route" has be usurped in popular lexicon in favor to the nickname known as "The Grapevine."  This blog will attempt to decipher the origins of "The Grapevine" and how it came into popular use today.  Featured as the blog cover photo is a view of Interstate 5 in Grapevine Canyon and former US Route 99 at Deadman's Curve of the Ridge Route. This blog is part of the larger Gribblenation US Route 99 Page.  For more information pertaining to the other various segments of US Route 99 and it's three-digit child routes check out the link the below. Gribblenation US Route 99 Page Note:

US Route 101 in Benbow, Garberville and Redway

The communities of Benbow, Garberville and Redway can all be found along US Route 101 within southern Humboldt County.  The former surface alignment of US Route 101 in Garberville and Redway once crossed the Garberville Bluffs along what is now Redwood Drive via a corridor constructed as part of the Redwood Highway during the 1910s.  US Route 101 through Benbow, Garberville and Redway was modernized by 1935.  US Route 101 would eventually be upgraded to freeway standards in Benbow, Garberville and Redway by extension of the Redwood Freeway during 1966-68.  As the cover photo the original grade of US Route 101 and the Redwood Highway can be seen at the Garberville Bluffs during 1934.  US Route 101 can be seen in the communities of Benbow, Garberville and Redway on the 1935 Division of Highways Map of Humboldt County .   The history of US Route 101 in Benbow, Garberville and Redway Benbow, Garberville and Redway lie on the banks of the South Fork Eel River of southern Humboldt County.  D

Old Stage Road in Tulare County and Kern County

Old Stage Road is an approximately 30-mile rural highway comprised of Tulare County Mountain Road 1, Kern County Mountain Road 447 and Tulare County Mountain Road 109.  Old Stage originates at Jack Ranch Road near Posey and ends at the outskirts of Porterville at Deer Creek.  Old Stage Road notably is comprised of two 19th Century stage routes.  From White Mountain Road northwest to Fountain Springs, Old Stage Road overlays Thomas Baker's 1860s era stage road to Linn Valley (now Glennville) and the Kern River Gold Rush Claims.  From Fountain Springs to Deer Creek, Old Stage Road is comprised of the 1853 Stockton-Los Angeles Road. Featured as the blog cover is the northward descent on Old Stage Road along Arrastre Creek to the town site of White River.  What became White River was settled along a spur of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road as "Dog Town" when gold was discovered nearby.  By 1856 the community had been renamed Tailholt.  A stage road from Tailholt to Linn Valley w