I-40 at Tn/NC line closed for 24 hours

“http://www.sbcbaptistpress.org/bpnews.asp?ID=23396

RALEIGH, N.C. (BP)--Travel to the Southern Baptist Convention eastbound on Interstate 40 will require a 51-mile detour between Knoxville, Tenn., and Asheville, N.C., for 24 hours beginning at 10 p.m. Saturday, June 10, according to a June 2 announcement by the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

The reason of the detour is maintenance work on a tunnel in Haywood County inside the North Carolina state line.

According to a NCDOT news release, motorists traveling east on I-40 will be routed on Interstate 81 north to Johnson City, Tenn., then on Interstate 181 to Interstate 26 east to Interstate 240 east in Asheville to reconnect with I-40.

According to Mapquest, the detour will cover 167 miles from Knoxville to Asheville compared to the 116 miles when Interstate 40 is open.”

“ha. now THAT sucks.”

“It won't affect me since I live on the other end of the state on I-40, but thought nowslimmer and the rest of those mountain folk might want to know.”

“oh man, that does suck. I used to commute between East TN and West NC a bunch a few years back. One summer there was a big rock slide that closed the interstate right about the same spot for about three months. The difference in mileage isn't really that much, but the TIME OMG!!! It sucks out loud!”

“Thanks for the heads up Hyway.
I have a friend who was planning on driving that stretch of I40 Saturday night.”

“the people going westbound will be wondering why no one is coming from the other direction”

“That stretch of road is murder. Trucks, especially, get into trouble there frequently. It is a heavily traveled trucking route. I try to avoid it when ever possible.”

“Try driving it in the rain at night.

I would rather have a root canal than do that again.”

“Try driving it in an ice storm with a fully loaded horse trailer..

I think I lost 20 years off my life.”

“Hi!”

“I don't have 20 years to spare. I need every minute I have left just to do the "big" stuff I want to get done.”

“hello sarge !!”

“I-40 at the TN/NC border will be closed for the next few months due to a large landslide. It's estimated 50 feet high and more than 100 feet long. Cleanup, stabilization and repair will take quite a while.”

“Crap0 I hope it is clear by mid january”

“Cheeze-n-crackerz....WTF is the deal with this spot...it must be on an ancient Indian burial ground er sumpthin....”

“That's a big-un.”

“It is one of the most improbable places in America for an interstate highway.

To put it in perspective for my Arkansas brethern, think about what an Interstate wold look like running from ponca to woolum.”

“Can you get to exit 451 (Waterville School Road) from the Tennessee side?”

“Here's a link to a pic of the slide:

http://media.knoxnews.com/media/img/photos/2009/10/25/102609rockslide1_t300.jpg

(I have no idea how to paste a real pic in here)”

“http://www.charlotteobserver.com/topstories/story/1019615.html

This news story has a link with more photos. That semi looks gutted. I like the photo of the Jeep sitting there, with what looks like the torn off semi gas tank lying nearby.”

“Mocs, it appears the slide was over on the NC side, but the question would be whether they closed I-40 at the I-81 junction and whether it is closed between Hartford and Waterville. It is a pain in the butt to go to Waterville via Cosby.”

“It's just a few curves, chili.”

“chili, is that the same detour we took with chain smoking tour guide from Mtn Mama's on our AT trip 2-3 years ago? Those lawn chairs in the back of that van were really sturdy.”

“Wow, I literally just drove from SC to OH on that road Friday. Unbelieveable.”

“how close is this to the big slide they had right on the border back in 97? I used to drive that route from Knoxville the Asheville about once a week and when they had to close it, it added a couple of hours to the trip.”

“DH, yep, that's it.”

“Thought so.

RA - that slide caused us to reroute on our first trip to Asheville. It's quicker to go ATL to Spartanburg and up, but my wife and I decided to go through this place we'd never heard of called Townsend and by-pass the slide. That was my first trip to the Smokies. I don't think it was until about 3 years later when I started hiking that I really appreciated what we'd stumbled on, for that trip.”

“RA- pretty much the same area”

“yep, i looked up the newspaper site tb - it's maybe just a bit further west, but in the same general area. I remember the first time i drove thru there and thought - "!DAM! they put an interstate HERE?!?!"

We've got a few sections of I-70 that go thru some pretty improbably terrain, but overall, that 40 miles or so of I-40 takes the cake.”

“RA I LOVED driving that section of 40 while pregnant. I pretty much thought I was a rally race driver then. Darn hormones. :D”

“haha! i bet! it is a fun ride.”

“http://www.charlotteobserver.com/breaking/story/1022822.html

Officials now say it won't re-open until late January.”

“YOU SHALE NOT PASS


When the road was open I bet all the drivers took it for granite.
last edited: 10/27/09 5:19:59 PM”

“Here's some info on the slide at the other end of the park..."the Dragon" is partially reopened.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/04/12/1371977/the-dragon-partially-reopening.html”

“How does one "partially reopen" the tail of the dragon?”