Repair work for the I-40 highway in North Carolina will now take until 2028 to complete, with the project expected to cost $1.6 billion. A section in Pigeon River Gorge suffered severe damage due to flooding caused by Hurricane Helene in September of 2024.
A new causeway has been built as part of the project. However, the repairs remain incomplete.
The work in North Carolina is being managed by the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT). The repair work to I-40 in Tennessee is being handled by the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TnDOT). Assistance to NCDOT and TnDOT is being provided by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).
Meanwhile, plans for toll lanes along a 25.6km stretch of I-40 in North Carolina are being considered at present. Costing $700 million, the work would widen the highway between Exit 27 and Exit 44. The majority of the cost of the work would be covered by revenue from tolling.
