HARMON DEN – Debris from a rockslide has closed the westbound lanes of Interstate 40 in Haywood County at mile marker 7.5 through at least Monday afternoon.
N.C. Department of Transportation officials were alerted to the slide about 1:15 p.m., Monday and closed the two lanes for the safety of the traveling public. Upon arrival, transportation officials found three boulders in a ditch beside the road and determined that a handful other rocks need to be removed from the mountain because they posed a danger to drivers.
Recent heavy rains likely played a role in the rocks coming loose, and geotechnical engineers also arrived on Monday afternoon to conduct further examinations.
Engineers estimate that crews will clear the debris, remove the hazards, examine the roadway, and reopen at least one lane early Monday evening if all is deemed safe for travel.
Traffic heading west toward Tennessee may consider using a detour to that uses a combination of I-40, I-240, I-26, and I-81 through Asheville and Johnson City. The distance from Asheville to the I-40/I-81 junction in Tennessee is about 50 miles longer than driving through the Pigeon River Gorge.
A larger slide occurred less than one mile west of this location in February.