WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced a major milestone in the Interstate-40 recovery efforts in North Carolina.
The Federal Highway Administration successfully cleared a number of legal barriers to allow the North Carolina Department of Transportation to acquire construction material from the adjacent Pisgah National Forest sooner than originally anticipated. The materials, which are just 1 to 3 miles away from the construction site, were originally expected to be sourced from 20 to 50 miles away - increasing project costs and slowing the rebuild effort. By significantly expediting the process, the Department of Transportation has delivered estimated savings of two-thirds in both cost and time- amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars.
FHWA and the United States Forest Service have worked in close coordination to accelerate the necessary approvals, completing a process that typically lasts six months in just more than one month. This accelerated timeline ensures that NCDOT gains immediate access to essential resources to begin construction operations at multiple material sites and rebuild critical infrastructure that connects local residents and improves interstate commerce.
'This is another major milestone in the Hurricane Helene recovery efforts along I-40,' said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy. 'I'm proud of the Department's hard work to ensure North Carolina can access a critical resource to rebuild efficiently and safely'.
Hurricane Helene washed out 10 sections of the eastbound lanes and shoulders across approximately four miles of I-40 along the Pigeon River on September 30. In February, while visiting the damage along I-40 in North Carolina, Secretary Duffy announced that USDOT has partnered with the Department of Agriculture's U.S. Forest Service to help accelerate the reconstruction efforts. This unprecedented, multi-agency effort helped USDOT obtain a letter of consent and right of entry to allow the NCDOT to access the Pisgah National Forest to begin critical construction activities, the US Department of Transportation said in a press release.
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