NORTH CAROLINA — It will cost the North Carolina Department of Transportation nearly $2 billion to fix the part of Interstate 40 through Pigeon River Gorge that was washed out by Hurricane Helene.
The state first estimated repair costs would be just over $1 billion.
NCDOT now tells our partners in Asheville that crews learned new information about the area and bumped up the estimate by $900 million.
The timeline for reopening all lanes is still late 2028.
WATCH: N.C. Auditor says hurricane relief program wasted millions, delayed recovery for thousands
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