Interstate 40 will partially reopen between North Carolina and Tennessee by March, according to Gov. Josh Stein.

On Monday, Stein visited western North Carolina with U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to assess the ongoing recovery efforts from Hurricane Helene.

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Stein said one lane of I-40 will reopen in each direction near the Tennessee-North Carolina state line, although I-40 will remain a construction zone, writing on X:

"We will reopen 2 lanes of I-40 by March 1. It’ll be for reduced speed two-way traffic and remain a construction zone so take caution."

As of Monday, I-40 remains closed from the Tennessee state line to Exit 20 (U.S. 276/Jonathan Creek Road). Since it will likely be many months before I-40 fully reopens, the state created a detour page to help people navigate the closure.

Part of I-40 was supposed to reopen in January, but heavy rain caused a chunk of asphalt to fall from an eastbound lane of I-40 in the Pigeon River Gorge, delaying the reopening.

Additionally, Helene-related closures are still impacting more than 50 main routes and more than 200 secondary roads, according to DriveNC.gov.

Stein said on Monday, "I am proud of NCDOT’s focus on this challenge and the roadworkers who have worked tirelessly to reopen roads and keep people safe. Reopening these lanes will help reconnect North Carolina and Tennessee and allow us to welcome back visitors to bolster the economy."

Since Helene's devastation in late September 2024, more than 1,200 roads have reopened in the state.

On Monday, Duffy also announced a special permit that will allow crews to use rock from Forest Service land and extract construction materials from a local river, writing,

This will allow the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) to get construction materials from a nearby river, just 1 to 3 miles away, instead of transporting them from 20 to 50 miles away, a process that would have tripled both the cost and duration of the project. This permit is a commonsense solution to reduce the time it would take to rebuild the highway and significantly cut down on costs.