State travel agencies scrambled over the weekend to repair the damage caused by Hurricane Helene, a Category 4 storm that made land in Florida on September 27.
The Weather Channel reported on September 30 that 2 million homes are still without authority, with a death toll of 102 people.
Total damage is estimated at$ 15 billion to over$ 100 billion, according to a September 30 Reuters report. In Buncombe County in western North Carolina, thirty people were killed by themselves.
On September 28, the Federal Emergency Management Administration granted emergency statements for Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee to help with planning and response efforts.
Western North Carolina Bridges Are Also Closed
As of the morning of September 30, North Carolina DOT reported that I-40 remained inaccessible in several areas and I-26 was closed at the Tennessee state range, making it clear that plenty of routes in the state had issues related to the storms.
A landslide on I-40 near Old Fort in McDowell County, doors opening at Oxford Dam over Lake Hickory, and waters encroaching on the NC 16 gate at the Alexander/Catawba state line were just a few things NCDOT noted over the weekend.
On September 29, NCDOT warned people to take into account the closure of every road in the eastern portion of the state.
Thousands of Trees Down in South Carolina
South Carolina DOT crews spent the entire weekend cleaning up wreckage, with SCDOT reporting that downed trees and power lines, particles in the footpath, and traffic signal outages were the main risks for motorists.
SCDOT announced on Sunday night that it was working to” clean the thousands of trees that fell across the northern region of South Carolina from the streets.”
The Great Falls Highway bridge over the Catawba River near Great Falls and the bridge over Gills Creek in Richland County were partially closed by the DOT over the weekend due to rising liquid levels.
Florida DOT Inspects Bridges
On September 30, Florida DOT announced that 1,400 bridge across impacted locations have been cleared after 129 bridge inspectors have finished inspections on all available state-owned and locally owned bridges.
Florida DOT stated it had cleared over 12, 200 yards of roadways in less than 36 hours.
Access to many routes has been restored, including the southern part of S. R. 789 in Longboat Key, the Howard Frankland Bridge, Gandy, Skyway, and Courtney Campbell Causeway.
Tennessee Reports Compromised Bridges
As of September 30, Tennessee DOT reported five roads that were impenetrable and a few different street issues and closures. In the last 36 time, the DOT reported that it had examined over 100 bridge, with thousands more still to come, as of September 29.
