Wednesday roads update: Two interstates, hundreds of other roads still closed

With rivers at or near record flood levels in southeast North Carolina, the state Department of Transportation says it has no idea when interstates 95 and 40 or other major highways to and from the coast will reopen.

The Lumber, Cape Fear and Northeast Cape Fear rivers and their tributaries are cresting in many places, but it will be days until they’ve retreated from the roads that serve as lifelines for the region. The Lumber may rise again for a second crest this weekend that will delay the opening of I-95 there, according to Chris Werner, NCDOT’s director of technical services.

And NCDOT doesn’t know what it will find when the water does recede, Werner said. It may be the roads are simply covered in mud, he said, or pavement may be washed away or bridges damaged, requiring repairs that keep them closed. With I-40 in particular, Werner said, “That is going to be a pretty complicated inspection process, due to its length and the number of bridges.”

The Neuse River is still rising at Kinston, and isn’t expected to crest until the weekend, according to the National Weather Service. That could close U.S. 70, severing an important route to and from the coast, said spokesman Steve Abbott.

“That road is open now,” Abbott said. “But we expect that road may not be when the river crests over.”

NCDOT says about 800 roads remain closed statewide because of Hurricane Florence, down from a peak of more than 2,200. Most of the closed roads are in the southeast corner of the state. Among the roads still closed Wednesday:

▪ Interstate 40 is closed from Exit 385 near Wallace to the New Hanover County line because of flooding.

▪ Southbound Interstate 95 is closed from I-40 in Johnston County south to Exit 65 at N.C. 82 near Godwin, while northbound is closed from Exit 65 to Exit 73 at Dunn. I-95 is also closed between Exit 56 near Fayetteville and Exit 13 in Lumberton because of flooding. The recommended detour for southbound traffic is to take I-40 west all the way to Hickory, and get on U.S. 321 south until it meets I-85 in Gastonia. NCDOT has put up barriers on southbound I-95 at U.S. 64 in Rocky Mount to enforce the detour there; local traffic headed to Wilson or Johnston County must take 64 one way or the other and find alternative routes to their destinations.

▪ Dozens of roads are closed in Robeson, Cumberland and Scotland counties, including U.S. 401 and U.S. 501 in several places.

▪ U.S. 74 is closed from I-95 east into Columbus County and then again in several places after its merger with U.S. 76 through Columbus and Brunswick counties to Wilmington.

▪ Several sections of U.S. 17 that had been closed in Brunswick County reopened Wednesday morning, but dozens of other roads in the county remain impassable.

▪ State highways through Bladen, Duplin, Pender and Jones counties are closed in several locations, including N.C. 41, N.C.50, N.C. 53, N.C. 58, N.C. 210 and N.C. 242.

▪ Service on the state ferry between Swan Quarter and Ocracoke expanded Tuesday to include nonresident property owners; visitors will be allowed to return to Ocracoke starting Friday. The Pamlico River ferry resumed operations Tuesday evening, and the Neuse River ferry began making day-time runs on Wednesday.

Drivers can check the status of state-maintained roads on an interactive map at tims.ncdot.gov/tims/. NCDOT warns that during a big storm there’s a lag time between when a road becomes impassable or reopens and when it gets marked as such on the website.

NCDOT is also warning that GPS systems have not kept up with road closures and are routing drivers into areas the state does not recommend for travel.

This story was originally published September 19, 2018 at 11:09 AM.