Among the most complex and expensive road rebuilding projects in Western North Carolina after Helene involve two rural highways in Yancey County, north of Asheville.
That’s where more than two feet of rain fell in a matter of hours and where the flooding Cane and North Toe rivers washed out miles of U.S. 19W and N.C. 197 in late September. Six months later, the highways have reopened, but with temporary roadbeds and pavement in many places.
Next week, the N.C. Department of Transportation will share its plans for rebuilding the highways at a public meeting in Burnsville. NCDOT expects to spend more than $1 billion and take until sometime in 2027 to finish the job…