COCKE COUNTY, Tenn. — U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg will be in East Tennessee on Thursday to assess damage from Helene with Tennessee Department of Transportation officials.
USDOT announced Buttigieg will be in Tennessee and Western North Carolina on Thursday, Oct. 17 to get updates on how federal assistance efforts are going to repair roads and infrastructure in the hardest-hit areas.
Interstate 40 and Interstate 26 remain out of commission between both states. Interstate access between Tennessee and North Carolina is expected to be cut off for several months at a minimum as crews work to repair the severe damage left after flooding from the Pigeon and Nolichucky rivers wiped out sections of the roads.
A portion of I-40 on the Tennessee side in Cocke County is expected to reopen to local traffic this week, but the section that was washed away in the Pigeon River Gorge on the North Carolina side will remain closed for months.
Drivers heading between Tennessee and North Carolina are being told to take a long detour around the damaged interstates through Virginia via I-81 and I-77.
In Tennessee, TDOT said seven of the 14 state bridges damaged by Helene have reopened. More than 17 road sections remain closed out of 49 roads that were damaged.
TDOT is also helping with recovery efforts in Florida after Hurricane Milton. TDOT said it sent nearly 30 employees with vehicles and trailers to support Florida road crews for at least 14 days.
"We’re proud to have the resources available to mobilize swiftly to help with the urgent needs of our neighbors in Florida severely impacted by Hurricane Milton,” Deputy Governor and TDOT Commissioner Butch Eley said. “We’ll work diligently with our FDOT partners to accelerate their recovery efforts and restore connectivity in the region just as they did for us after Hurricane Helene devasted upper East Tennessee.”