As of Oct. 8, power was out for more than 110,000 customers in North Carolina, 57,000 in Georgia and 21,000 in South Carolina, according to online tracker poweroutage.us. In an Oct. 5 update, Duke Energy reported more than 1.3 million customers in North Carolina and another 1 million in South Carolina had their power restored, saying 90% of customers able to receive power have had their service restored. 

In western North Carolina, Duke Energy reports that the storm “severely damaged considerable portions of our electrical infrastructure,” mapping different areas it labels as “complex repair zones” and “disaster rebuild zones,” which cover areas in nine counties. The Asheville, N.C. area and communities to the city’s east and south, are listed in the “disaster rebuild zone,” which Duke says, “will require new poles, lines, electrical equipment, buildings and infrastructure” where “temporary restoration solutions are under development.”

In the “complex repair zone,” which cover areas mainly in Henderson, Rutherford and Buncombe Counties, Duke explains, “areas experienced extensive damage, including broken poles, downed lines, damaged transmission lines or road access issues.”

The focus in the region for Duke is rebuilding infrastructure and installing new transformers and main power lines, while drones and helicopters assess the most heavily damaged areas. The more than 18,000 workers on hand are facing leaning and fallen trees, washed-out electrical equipment and damaged roads.

Contract Awarded for I-40

Interstates 40 and 26 remained closed between Tennessee and North Carolina as of Oct. 8, as the North Carolina Dept. of Transportation (NCDOT) begins work to repair its washed-out sections of I-40 and the Tennessee Dept. of Transportation (TDOT) works to reopen lanes on its side of I-40.

NCDOT shortlisted three contractors who submitted bids for four emergency repair sites, according to spokesperson David Uchiyama. Wright Brothers Construction secured the contract and is at work alongside its subcontractor GeoStabilization International on I-40, shoring the roadway using soil nails. Uchiyama says that work is expected to be complete Jan. 4, 2025, though no date has been set for the reopening of the interstate.

“This operation is necessary in order to save what remains of the westbound lanes,” he says. 

At least 100 bridges will need to be rebuilt in the region. As of Oct. 8, about 630 roads remained closed and more than 450 had been reopened thanks to more than 2,000 NCDOT personnel working with more than 1,100 pieces of heavy equipment, he says. The agency has identified more than 4,700 damage sites, including 400 bridges and 500 culverts. 

Work has been aided by the quick reopening of I-26 south of Asheville to South Carolina, and the opening of I-40 on Old Fort Mountain. The openings have allowed emergency responders and construction-related traffic to access the devastated areas, Uchiyama says. 

He adds that NCDOT’s business partners are assisting in many ways, including quarries that have expanded hours to allow the agency additional access to materials.

In Tennessee, 30 of 49 sections of state routes closed because of the storm have been reopened, including state route 350 in Greene County and SR 133 in Johnson County, the first of which was piled 30 ft high with debris with several washed-out areas exposing bare soil and damaged utility poles. 

“In just 120 hours, 75 TDOT employees hauled dozens of truckloads of debris from Jones Bridge Road and repaired craters of asphalt displaced by the storm,” says Tennessee Deputy Governor and TDOT Commissioner Butch Eley. 

By Oct. 7, TDOT reported almost 50,000 worker hours since the storm to clear, repair and reconstruct roads.

Mark Nagi, regional communications officer with TDOT, says I-40 is expected to be open by around Oct. 20 in Tennessee up to the North Carolina state line via one lane in each direction on the two westbound lanes.

Water Repairs Prioritized

In an Oct. 7 update, Asheville says extensive repairs are required for treatment facilities, underground and aboveground water pipes and roads that have washed away. Workers were in the process of reconstructing a 36-in. bypass line at the city’s North Fork reservoir in nearby Black Mountain, which when completed will serve about 80% of the system’s customers. 

Those crews are also facing other complications, including debris clogging intact portions of pipes and working conditions that are still hazardous following the flooding, which the city says, “offer a clear illustration of the impossibility of offering an accurate timeline for service restoration.” 

The city aims to have a 36-in. water bypass line reconnected at its North Fork reservoir in nearby Black Mountain by Oct. 11, though the reservoir remained murky and must be allowed to clear before water can be drawn. Work was being performed by local contractors TP Howard’s Plumbing and Tennoca Construction Co., which were working to complete critical repairs to the distribution system, which has three total water treatment plants. One of those, in Mills River near Asheville Regional Airport, was operating at full capacity Oct. 8. The city is continuing to forecast weeks more work until full system operations are restored. 

In Tennessee, state officials report 19 drinking water facilities suffering operation issues, 17 of which have issued boil water advisories. Three wastewater treatment plants have been impacted by flooding in Hamblen, Johnson and Unicoi Counties.