Latest news with #DavidUchiyama
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
1 storm, 1,400 closures: Rebuilding roads after a devastating hurricane
For months, Interstate 40 in western North Carolina was cut off following the devastation of Hurricane Helene. In February, part of the interstate reopened, but only for drivers who need to use it, and at a reduced speed. There were more than 1,400 road closures and 10 million cubic yards of debris removed from roads and waterways. It's been eight months, and WNC continues to face the aftermath of the most damaging and costly natural disaster in the state's history. Rebuilding has been arduous, and nowhere is that more evident than the work it took to reconnect I-40 from North Carolina to Tennessee. 'Our IMAP crews start driving from the Asheville side and noticed no traffic was coming through, so they know there's a problem. They got together with other local officials and opened a gate and sent traffic back to the Tennessee line,' said David Uchiyama with the North Carolina Department of Transportation. 'Without that emergency response in the moment, I have zero doubt that people would have died. The reconstruction was a historic operation that took 126 days. Although the road hasn't been fully rebuilt, the massive undertaking of opening one lane in each direction was monumental for commuters and for commerce. Some businesses are still feeling the impacts of the storm. Cass Santander with Explore Asheville says that even with 97% of the roads being partially or fully reopened, tourism is down. 'Seventy-five percent of hospitality and tourism-facing businesses are reopened, and there is a determination and grit to come back better than ever, and it's an exciting time to come and visit,' Santander said. Some roads are still struggling to reopen. Highway 64, for example, is still closed from Lake Lure through Chimney Rock and Bat Cave. Roads in Yancey County will likely take years to rebuild. 'Yancey County was one of the more devastated areas because of the rivers,' Uchiyama said. 'The Cane River, Nolichucky River that flow through it, just wiping out everything along its way.' So how do we prepare for future storms? Uchiyama says it's not about preparation, but more about resilience. 'Design standards have changed over the decades. So anything that is newer is better. And anything that is going in new now is going to be better than anything built even five years ago,' Uchiyama said. But through the noise of the bulldozers and the debris still lingering, what was once seen as a near-impossible task of rebuilding has transformed into inspiring stories of what can be achieved. (VIDEO: FEMA offers to sell temporary housing units to WNC families displaced by Hurricane Helene)
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Yahoo
Nazi graffiti spray-painted on road at J-Creek intersection
May 7—A swastika and double lightning-bolt symbol was spray-painted on the ground at a Jonathan Creek intersection overnight Wednesday, April 30, according to multiple reports from residents in the area. The appearance of the hate symbol — at the intersection of Hemphill and Grindstone roads — sparked concern among residents. One man who was out of town when it happened was alerted to it the next day as neighbors began calling each other, wondering what to do. "A neighbor down the street said, 'Hey, there's a swastika painted in the road,'" said the man who lives nearby but requested anonymity. He was alarmed to see it for himself upon returning to town. "It's mostly in red spray paint," the man, who has a background in law enforcement, told The Mountaineer. " What caught my mind, what caught my attention besides the swastika, was the double lightning bolts." The graffiti was removed Tuesday, May 6, by the N.C. Department of Transportation, according to DOT spokesperson David Uchiyama. Meanwhile, the Haywood County Sheriff's Office is investigating the incident. "We're taking it seriously and we are investigating it," said Haywood County Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer Gina Zachary. "We are looking into potential suspects and potential charges." Zachary said detectives are researching a range of potential criminal violations that might apply, from graffiti vandalism to even hate crime charges. The sheriff's office received a complaint from a neighbor about the graffiti on Thursday. The sheriff's office called back to get more information, but the neighbor missed the call. After receiving a follow-up inquiry from The Mountaineer on Monday, the sheriff's office officially opened an incident report and sent a deputy to go check it out — four days after the initial complaint was made. Zachary also said the Sheriff's Office has no indication that the graffiti was targeted specifically at anyone nearby. The Sheriff's Office also notified the N.C. Department of Transportation. NCDOT is listed as the "victim" on the incident report. The presence of bolts "are a common white supremacist/neo-Nazi symbol derived from Schutzstaffel (SS) of Nazi Germany," according to the Anti-Defamation League's hate symbol database. "The SS, led by Heinrich Himmler, maintained the police state of Nazi Germany. Its members ranged from agents of the Gestapo to soldiers of to guards at concentration and death camps."
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
5 months after Helene: I-40 expected to reopen, but other roads still closed
It has been five months since Hurricane Helene devastated the southern Appalachians. This weekend, the section of Interstate 40 washed out near the North Carolina and Tennessee border is expected to finally reopen. The major interstate has been completely closed since the Pigeon River took out 10 sections of a 4-mile stretch closest to the river. Since Helene ravaged the area, the closure has detoured an estimated 27,000 vehicles a day -- nearly 4 million vehicles -- to other roads in North Carolina and Tennessee. FILE - This photo provided by the North Carolina Department of Transportation shows the collapsed eastbound lane of I-40 into the Pigeon River in North Carolina near the Tennessee border, Sept. 28, 2024. (N.C. Department of Transportation via AP, File) This photo provided by the North Carolina Department of Transportation shows the collapsed eastbound lane of I-40 into the Pigeon River in North Carolina near the Tennessee border, Sept. 28, 2024. (N.C. Department of Transportation via AP, File) A total of 90,000 square feet of wall has been built between the river and the road. Only one lane in each direction will open, and the speed limit will be 40 mph, NCDOT says. David Uchiyama, Western Communications Manager for NCDOT, told AccuWeather that drivers will still experience delays at the new portion of I-40 that has opened and should still use alternate routes if possible. Meanwhile, most of the Blue Ridge Parkway north of Asheville, North Carolina, remains closed due to downed trees and mudslides. Because parts of the Parkway are closed periodically in the winter, no new sections have reopened since November. A Hurricane Helene triggered landslide caused a complete collapse of the roadbed at Gooch Gap - Milepost 336 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The worst damage is near Mount Mitchell, the National Park Service, which is responsible for the highway, said. "The highest concentration of overall damage occurred from the Linville Falls area near milepost 317 south to Mount Mitchell State Park near milepost 349," the NPS website reads. "Along with the destruction of park facilities near Linville Falls, including the visitor center, picnic area comfort station, and portions of the campground, park teams have documented over four dozen landslides and other storm-related natural and cultural resource damage in those 38 miles of Parkwayâ¯alone," NPS says. A recently fired U.S. Forest Service worker told CNN that the National Park layoffs would "severely impact" Hurricane Helene cleanup efforts in North Carolina, while a program manager with the agency described the layoffs as a "major threat" to Helene recovery in an interview with the Asheville Citizen Times. There are still 155 roads that remain closed in North Carolina, five months after Helene struck the state.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Is I-40 still closed? Interstate 40 at Tennessee/North Carolina border to open this spring
After a months-long closure of Interstate 40 at the North Carolina and Tennessee state line, the highway is expected to reopen this spring. I-40 through the Pigeon River Gorge has remained closed since late September when Hurricane Helene ripped through the region, leaving mass devastation in the storm's wake. Helene temporarily closed or damaged thousands of roads in both Tennessee and North Carolina. The storm triggered at least 10 collapses alone across a 9-mile stretch of I-40 in North Carolina. Originally, the highway was going to reopen to traffic in "early 2025," however, another chunk of the road fell away from an eastbound lane in December, further delaying the possibility of establishing the traffic flow so soon. Once the highway is deemed safe, I-40 across the state line will reopen in directions, according to David Uchiyama, spokesperson for the North Carolina Department of Transportation. The heavily traveled four-lane highway will be reduced to just two narrowed lanes. This will accommodate eastbound and westbound traffic while leaving space for crews to work on long-term repairs with the goal of eventually opening the important route through the Appalachians. Additionally, vehicles traveling through the gorge will have to obey a 40 mph speed limit. This logistical information has not changed since it was announced in November. Commercial vehicles will be allowed to use the reopened highway, according to Uchiyama. NCDOT and the Tennessee Department of Transportation are working together. Tennessee will open its side of the highway at I-40 Mile Marker 451 to the state line once North Carolina is "ready to handle traffic again," according to TDOT spokesperson Drew Rutherford. "TDOT and NCDOT have been and will continue to meet regularly to coordinate recovery efforts," Rutherford said. There will likely be congestion when I-40 reopens at the state line, according to Uchiyama. He "highly recommends" that drivers use an alternate route to travel between Tennessee and North Carolina. To stabilize and reopen a portion of I-40 has taken NCDOT months. To fully repair I-40 at the gorge, it will take years, according to Uchiyama. NCDOT hired Wright Brothers Construction, with GeoStabilization International as a sub-contractor, to stabilize the eastbound lanes, according to an NCDOT press release. Uchiyama said fully restoring I-40 could take "multiple years." "We are barely 10% into designing the reconstruction," Uchiyama said. Still, you're unable to drive across the Tennessee state line into North Carolina on I-40. In Tennessee, there is one lane of traffic open in each direction between Mile Marker 446 and Mile Marker 451 at the state line. Commercial traffic cannot go any further than Mile Marker 440 on I-40 East, according to TDOT SmartWay. The highway is closed in both directions from Mile Marker zero to 20 in North Carolina. The initial partial collapse of Interstate 40 happened along the Pigeon River Gorge. Flooding from Tropical Storm Helene triggered a mudslide which caused part of the highway to collapse. Following the devastating storm, I-40 East was closed from Mile Marker 432 in Tennessee until Mile Marker 3 in North Carolina. I-40 West was closed starting at Mile Marker 3 in North Carolina through Mile Marker 435 in Tennessee. Much of that highway stretch has reopened since. I-40 is a major thoroughfare through the Southern Appalachian Mountains. The stretch of I-40 in North Carolina that was damaged by Helene supports about 7,610 trucks daily and a total average daily traffic of over 26,000 vehicles. The highway is 2,559 miles long. It passes through California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee and North Carolina. Of that total, 455 miles of I-40 go through through Tennessee. Knoxville News Sentinel reporter Myron Thompson contributed to this report. This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: I-40 closure: When will I-40 reopen in Tennessee, North Carolina?
