COCKE COUNTY, Tenn. — Historic flooding swept away part of Interstate 40, near the Tennessee and North Carolina state line, in September. Part of the interstate in Cocke County is back open, but with restrictions. Only local traffic can travel on it.
"We have to do a lot of detours and rerouting to get to the locations we need to go," said Tina Reece, the owner of a thrift store in Del Rio. "There's lots of big trucks, cars, a lot of construction workers who are here working on the properties right now."
The Tennessee Department of Transportation said it's only open to local traffic. Trucks can't drive through, and it's still closed for those looking to leave or enter North Carolina. The people who drive in that area have to find a new route.
Highway 25/70 is being used as a detour route. That's where Reece's store is located. She said a month ago, only about four or five cars drove through every 10 to 15 minutes. It was also only local traffic. Now she said there are semi trucks constantly zooming by.
"All the traffic is being detoured this way. It's making it hard for businesses for people to get in and out on the highways. The traffic is flying. It just blows you almost down as traffic goes by. There's so much traffic at the moment," said Reece.
Melinda Amburgey said she had to cancel her travel plans because of the damage to the interstate.
"I had a trip planned to go to North Georgia. And I always take I-40. Of course, I was gonna cancel the trip anyway because of the flooding. It was so bad but I couldn't get there," said Amburgey.
She said she last remembers similar damage in the area about 15 years ago when there was a mudslide.
"It took almost a year and a half to fix that road. I don't know if it'll take that long this time or not. But it has a major impact," said Amburgey.
Amburgey said although the traffic has been a problem, the Del Rio community has more to worry about. The community was devastated by flooding along the French Broad River.
"The traffic I think is the least of their problems. Obviously right now when you're literally seeing houses go down the river, it's heartbreaking. It's gonna slow the supply chain and people are not gonna be able to get the things as quickly as they usually would. So I just hope that we can recover as quickly as possible because it's been devastating. It really has," said Amburgey.
Grandma's Blessings, Reece's store, is offering free supplies for those in need in Cocke County. It has camping supplies, clothing and food. Reece said donations are also being accepted.
Anyone who wants to help the thrift store can reach out on its Facebook page.