CHARLOTTE — Tropical Storm Helene caused catastrophic damage to roads in western North Carolina. Closer to home, the damaged roads could influence and change traffic flows for drivers in the metro.
Hundreds of roads are still closed in the mountain counties, forcing drivers to use alternate routes hundreds of miles away.
A map created by the North Carolina Department of Transportation outlines those detours.
This map may explain why traffic on I-85 SB in Gaston has been heavier in the early afternoon. With hundreds of roads still closed in Western NC, drivers are forced to use alternates hundreds of miles away affecting traffic patterners in the metro on I-77 & I-85. #clttraffic pic.twitter.com/90RsVDCu7x
— Traffic Team 9 (@TrafficTeam9) October 3, 2024
For detours, NCDOT is offering Interstate 77 North through Charlotte into Virginia and Interstate 81 into Tennessee. I-85 South is also an option heading into Spartanburg, which is starting to bottleneck traffic earlier in the day driving through Gaston County.
In Charlotte, NCDOT said it could be the end of the month before Sam Wilson Road reopens. It closed last week during Helene after a water main broke and damaged the entire roadway south of Wilkinson Boulevard.
Sam Wilson Road is scheduled to reopen by Oct. 27. Drivers can use Wilkinson Boulevard and Old Down Roads as alternates.
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