I-40 In Tennessee To Reopen Completely Next Summer

We have news on when we can expect Interstate 40 to be back open in full. TDOT announced on Thursday that they expect to have I-40 completely back open with two lanes in each direction by the summer of 2026. Several eastbound sections of the interstate between MM 447 and the state line were washed away on September 27, 2024 due to flooding caused by Hurricane Helene.

After I-40 is reopened completely in Tennessee next summer, it will still be a two lane highway between the state line and Exit 7 in North Carolina. NCDOT says they expect to have Interstate 40 in North Carolina back to normal by sometime in late 2027. So, it will be at least two more years before travel on I-40 between Tennessee and North Carolina is back to normal.

This is still quite the accompishment to get the interstate rebuilt in that short amount of time. Earlier this month, NCDOT announced they had secured permitting to extract rock from the Pisgah National Forest for the reconstruction of Interstate 40. Getting the rock from just across the river from the interstate will assist in cutting down the time to rebuild what mother nature washed away.