Before they can rebuild the eastbound lanes of Interstate 40 through the Pigeon River Gorge, contractors must construct massive walls to hold up the highway and ensure the river doesn’t wash it away like it did after Hurricane Helene two years ago.
The flooding river took about 1 million cubic yards of earth and stone, causing the eastbound lanes of I-40 to collapse in 10 places in North Carolina and several others in Tennessee. Highway departments in both states reopened I-40 through the gorge more than a year ago by converting the surviving westbound lanes to two-way traffic at a reduced speed…