PROMISE KEPT: Major Hurricane-Damaged Highway Re-Opened At “Lightning Speed” Under DOT Secretary Sean Duffy

After the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene last October, the I-40 highway in North Carolina was severely damaged.

Joe Biden’s Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said it would take months, or even years, to fix it.

But, thanks to President Trump’s Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, the highway has just officially re-opened!

Check it out:

🚨#BREAKING: The I-40 highway in #WNC which crumbled into the river during Hurricane Helene and has been closed for 5 months…

…has officially reopened!

DOT Secretary Sean Duffy allowed rock to be pulled from the river to rebuild 3X faster and cheaper. pic.twitter.com/sGm9PIwgc2

— Matt Van Swol (@matt_vanswol) March 1, 2025

It's open!

If you somehow missed the announcement, the stretch of I-40 near the Tennessee border washed out by Helene reopened to traffic yesterday.

If you take this route, remember:
⏺️ Narrow lanes
⏺️ 35 mph speed limit
⏺️ Trucks allowed – No oversize pic.twitter.com/xZETVSdoAV

— NCDOT (@NCDOT) March 2, 2025

Transportation Secretary Duffy was sworn in just a few weeks ago and has already accomplished a huge task.

Duffy got a special permit passed in North Carolina to allow rock from the Forest Service to be used to rebuild the highway, vowing it would be done at “lightning speed” and at “a fraction of the cost.”

Thank you @HARRISFAULKNER!

I-40 is a vital artery for Tennessee, North Carolina, & the rest of the nation. The communities that depend on this critical highway will not be forgotten. Under President Trump, @USDOT will rebuild at lightning speed & at a fraction of the cost. pic.twitter.com/65vvspt84M

— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) February 10, 2025

And, that’s exactly what happened!

Another promise kept!

WSBTV reported:

The North Carolina Department of Transportation announced the reopening of Interstate 40 on Saturday morning.

I-40 was destroyed by Hurricane Helene five months ago. Flash flooding along the Pigeon River damaged large sections of the eastbound lanes near the Tennessee line.

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NCDOT reopened one lane in each direction on Saturday morning. The stretch extends about 12 miles from Exit 7 in North Carolina to Exit 447 in Tennessee.

“This marks a significant step toward reconnecting North Carolina with Tennessee, and it comes as a relief to travelers and businesses alike. Drivers are urged to to stay alert and drive safely as much of this area remains and active work zone,” NCDOT said.

The Mountaineer noted what one engineer who worked on the road said about the “impossibility” Duffy pulled off here:

When Daniel Ross first laid eyes on the destruction to I-40 after Helene, he never imagined it would be drivable for the general public in just five short months.

“It’s a marvel. It seemed next to impossible when we first started, just looking at the damage and the timelines we established,” said Ross, the project engineer for the emergency repair job to 40.

Ross was one of the first DOT engineers to reach the slide site and realize the magnitude of what lay ahead. It was mid-day Friday, Sept. 27. The water hadn’t peaked yet, and the deeper he drove into the gorge, the higher the Pigeon River rose.

“It was incredible. It was like driving by a lake. It looked like you could just about reach out and touch the water. That’s when it clicked for us what a big deal this was,” said Ross, who lives on Jonathan Creek. “There was asphalt floating down the river.”..

Now, just 157 days later, Ross will see traffic turned loose on 40 again.

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“We’ve done what a lot of people thought was impossible,” Ross said, sharing credit with the Wright Brothers contractor. “It has been a monumental effort by all parties down there. We still have a long ways to go, but opening that corridor is a major milestone in restoring Western North Carolina to the place it was prior to the storm.”

It’s great to have competent people in our government, working to actually get things done as efficient and fast as possible, isn’t it?