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    • I-26 in Unicoi County reopens with one lane in each direction
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    I-26 in Unicoi County reopens with one lane in each direction

    Harry Posted on

    A significant portion of Interstate 26 in Unicoi County reopened 33 days after flooding erwin It caused parallel interstate bridges over the Nolichucky River to collapse.

    TDOT announced one lane is open in each direction on I-26 between mile markers 39 and 40. I-26 East Exit 40 (Jackson Love Highway) is closed. The entrance ramp from the Jackson Love Expressway to I-26 East and I-26 West will be open.

    Large loads exceeding 12 feet in length are not permitted. Commercial traffic should continue to use the detour of I-81 and I-77.

    “Within hours, we started coming up with solutions. “We had the contract ready within a few days so we could start the work you see here today,” Butch Eley, Tennessee’s lieutenant governor and transportation commissioner, said at a press conference. “Everyone here is working day and night to get this road open and all the roads in this community open.” .”

    U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary visiting East Tennessee and Western North Carolina on October 17 Pete Buttigieg said There were plans to restore one lane of traffic in each direction on Interstates 26 and 40 in the coming weeks. Buttigieg announced that the federal government is providing $32 million in emergency highway aid to Tennessee.

    Some of that funding went to repair I-26 in Unicoi County, Eley said.

    Flooding in East Tennessee: Everything there is to know, from rescues to rescues to Helene resources

    What other sections of the interstate have reopened?

    Part of I-26 Between the Tennessee-North Carolina state line and Exit 40 It reopened to local traffic in Erwin on October 10.

    While the designated portion of the interstate is open to local traffic, that area is still closed to commercial vehicles and traffic, Tennessee Department of Transportation Director Steve Borden said in a video posted Oct. 9 on X, formerly Twitter.

    Interstate 40 in Cocke County opens One lane of traffic in each direction within Tennessee for local traffic only. The reopened section stretches from mile marker 451 near the Tennessee/North Carolina state line to mile marker 446 near Hartford Road at mile marker 447, according to a post on X (formerly Twitter) by TDOT spokesman Mark Nagi.

    Hayden Dunbar is a storyteller reporter. Email [email protected].

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    Harry
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