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Published: 2012-02-03 14:54:00
Updated: 2012-02-03 19:15:12

Posted: February 3, 2012

Rock slide occurs on closed section of I-40

Rock slide closes I-40 in Haywood

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Rock slide closes I-40 in Haywood
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Asheville, N.C. — Three days after the North Carolina Department of Transportation closed westbound Interstate 40 west of Asheville because of a rock slide in Tennessee, another rock slide occurred along the closed highway.

The DOT said Friday that a rock slide occurred near milepost 7, just east of the state line in Haywood County.

Westbound lanes remain closed while crews in Tennessee clear the debris from the roadway and stabilize other rocks in the area. Eastbound lanes of I-40 aren't affected by either slide.

DOT engineers were assessing the extent of the North Carolina slide, and the agency had no timetable for clearing the debris and any stabilization effort.

A detour for westbound traffic remains in place.

Copyright 2012 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Latest Comments
gitchigumi: re-read the article. the road was closed 3 days BEFORE the rockslide.
Click to view my profile SingleLensReflex.SLR
February 3, 2012 5:25 p.m.
Wow, it had to be almost a psychic moment to know which section to close and when. It couldn't have been easy to convince the DOT to close a major highway "on spec". They really did well !!! I hope the person making the decision to close it is rewarded for good sense. Well done ! ------------------------------------------

SLR: That section had already been closed because of an earlier rock slide. Happened last week, I think... It was not intuition or divine intervention... It was closed in reaction to the physical event (a rock slide) that had occurred.
Click to view my profile NoRespect
February 3, 2012 4:43 p.m.
Wow, it had to be almost a psychic moment to know which section to close and when. It couldn't have been easy to convince the DOT to close a major highway "on spec". They really did well !!! I hope the person making the decision to close it is rewarded for good sense. Well done !
Click to view my profile SingleLensReflex.SLR
February 3, 2012 4:35 p.m.
Just WEST of the state line? Try again!ncopperino

Actually with the way I-40 twists and turns (following the route of the Pigeon River) it could be west of the NC state line.
Click to view my profile GoSteelers
February 3, 2012 4:35 p.m.
Yes, it is more-or-less the same area that was closed for months that time. It is all in a 20-30 mile stretch that has a type of rock and in formations that make it very difficult to build upon.
unc70
February 3, 2012 4:29 p.m.
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