With I-40 closed and five bridges “completely gone,” TDOT plans to begin work soon

The Tennessee Department of Transportation plans to move quickly with repairs to infrastructure damaged by Hurricane Helene, particularly the collapsed pot of Interstate 40 near the Tennessee-North Carolina border and the handful of bridges that were washed away.

The storm closed 14 state bridges on state routes, and five of them are “completely gone,” TDOT Deputy Commissioner Will Reid said during a Sept. 29 news conference. That means not just repairs, but entirely new buildings will be needed to reconnect communities.

TDOT inspected more than 100 bridges over the course of 36 hours, the department said in a 5:30 p.m. social media post on X, formerly known as Twitter. Officials have yet to check hundreds.

In Greene County, Reid said, Bridge 107 is affected, as are bridges on state routes 340, 350 and 351. Some local bridges in the county are also affected.

TDOT wants to start awarding repair contracts as early as Sept. 30, Reid said.

“We are still in the debris removal and assessment phase,” he said.

I-40 repair is a priority for Tennessee and North Carolina

TDOT is working closely with the North Carolina Department of Transportation to repair Interstate 40 between mileposts 443 and 451 near the Tennessee-North Carolina line.

A mudslide on the North Carolina side resulted in a partial collapse of the highway, NCDOT spokesperson Kelse Edwards said. Photos of the dramatic collapse circulated on social media.

Interstate 40, a major artery through the southern Appalachians, is closed in both directions:

• I-40 East is closed from mile marker 432 in Tennessee to mile marker 3 in North Carolina.

• I-40 West is closed from mile marker 3 in North Carolina to mile marker 435 in Tennessee.

Officials from each state assessed damage to their respective sides of I-40 this weekend, but had no timeline for how long it would take to repair the roadway.

Interstate 26 between mile markers 40 and 43 is another major point of interest, as is State Route 81 in Unicoi and Washington counties, Reid said.

Allison Kiehl contributed to this story.

Areena Aroradata and investigative journalist for Knox News, can be reached by email at [email protected]. Follow her on X @AreenaArora And on Instagram @areena_news.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: TDOT eye repairs for I-40 and bridges after Hurricane Helene flooding