A version of the following article appeared in the October 2, 2026, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with local business-y news and insights for Charlotte, N.C.
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Editor’s note: Two years after Hurricane Helene devastated Western North Carolina, recovery is still unfolding across the region. In “Helene: Road to Recovery,” a five-part series, The Charlotte Ledger examines where that recovery stands today — from rebuilding communities, roads and forests to the storm’s lasting effects on healthcare and wildlife — and the work that remains.
THURSDAY: How Helene changed mountain rivers
FRIDAY: I-40’s long road back after Helene
Despite setbacks on the I-40 project, reconstruction efforts on NC roads and bridges are coming along quickly, officials say
A portion of the Interstate 40 damage immediately following Hurricane Helene; this type of damage was typical throughout the 5-mile corridor. (Photo courtesy of N.C. Department of Transportation)
by Daniel Larlham Jr.
Two years ago, Hurricane Helene’s torrential rainfall swelled Pigeon River and washed away two eastbound lanes of Interstate 40 near the North Carolina-Tennessee border.
The damage left I-40 impassable for five months. It’s still down to only two lanes in the area most affected by the storm. One million cubic yards of embankment collapsed between mile marker zero, at North Carolina’s border and near marker 5, known as the double tunnel.
While perhaps the most visible of all the state’s storm-damaged roadways, it was just a glimpse at the true scale of the damage:
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