Barricades have been removed and traffic is once again flowing on Swannanoa River Road (N.C. 81) between Tunnel Road (U.S. 70) and Fairview Road in east Asheville.
N.C. Department of Transportation and contract crews completed an extensive reconstruction project near the WNC Nature Center in less than 120 days after Hurricane Helene sent the Swannanoa River on its devastating path. Crews essentially built a new road.
“After the storm, you could see where a road should be, but wasn’t,” NCDOT Resident Engineer Tom Veazey said. “Now, crews have restored the roadway to previous conditions, making it safe for travel once again.”
Operations started with removing trees dropped like a box of toothpicks across the road and concluded earlier this week with the installation of temporary power to new traffic signals. In that short time, crews removed debris including trees, mud, broken asphalt and old construction materials.
The roadbed was restored using large rock, allowing underground utilities to be rebuilt. From there, the stone base was graded and capped with new asphalt. The final operations included new guardrail, new pavement markings and traffic signals.
Additional restoration operations will continue in this area including further debris removal and utility restoration — operations to be conducted by partner agencies. Drivers should anticipate periodic lane closures to accommodate recovery operations in the coming weeks.
Other sections of Swannanoa River Road — west of this stretch — remain closed for ongoing restoration. Several local, state and federal agencies are removing debris, rebuilding utilities and restoring the area.
For real-time travel information, visit DriveNC.gov or follow NCDOT on social media.
Written by NCDOT.