Hole on I-40 bridge near Statesville closes part of highway through weekend, troopers say
UPDATE: The Interstate 40 bridge near Old Mountain Road reopened on Monday, Oct. 25, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol said.
Interstate 40 West near Statesville will remain closed until early next week after after a gaping hole emerged in the travel lanes on Friday, according to the State Highway Patrol.
The hole formed when concrete loosened on an I-40 bridge and fell onto Beulah Road in western Iredell County, Master Trooper Jeffery Swagger said.
No injuries were reported.
The westbound I-40 lanes near Old Mountain Road are closed, Swagger said in a news release just before 5 p.m.
Drivers are being detoured from Stamey Farm Road Exit 145 to U.S. 70 West and back onto the interstate via Sharon School Road Exit 141.
State highway crews are examining the bridge to determine how to repair it, Swagger said. It was not immediately known why the concrete loosened.
Expect the detour to last through the beginning of next week, according to the trooper.
Late Friday, the state Department of Transportation said in an alert update that the lanes could reopen by 3 p.m. Monday.
This is a developing story.
This story was originally published October 22, 2021 at 7:04 PM with the headline "Hole on I-40 bridge near Statesville closes part of highway through weekend, troopers say."