With Hurricane Florence gathering strength on a projected track toward the North Carolina coast, state agencies and contractors are preparing not only for 130-mph winds and storm surges, but also for protracted rainfall and inland flooding.
Expected to make landfall near Wilmington, N.C., on Friday morning, Florence has spurred government-mandated evacuations of coastal areas from Virginia to South Carolina, which triggers emergency traffic-management adjustments. On Tuesday morning, SCDOT officials reversed the eastbound lanes of I-26 from Charleston to I-77, providing extra capacity for Low Country residents leaving the area. West Virginia has also suspended construction work on I-77 to facilitate evacuations and delivery of relief supplies. NCDOT's ferry system has assisted with moving residents and visitors off isolated Ocracoke Island, among the most vulnerable of the state's barrier islands.