INTERSTATE 40 ROCKSLIDE UPDATE FOR FEB. 4

Crews install 75 rock bolts in two days, bringing total to 180

RALEIGH – Crews spent today installing more rock bolts and cementing into place others already installed as work continued on the mountainside where the I-40 rockslide occurred. A helicopter assisted the crews for part of the day shift. Crews put in 15 new bolts, bringing the overall total to 180. In all, crews have to install 590 into the mountainside as they knit together the rock mass so that it does not loosen or fall.Much of the work today focused on grouting the bolts already in place.

Crews can heat up to 2,700 gallons of water at a time to mix the grout. That makes enough grout for about 25 bolts. The grout is pumped through hoses to a place where a bolt has been installed and then inserted into the hole where it surrounds the bolt, sets up and hardens into place.Work has continued in two shifts since Monday, with crews working about 20 hours a day. A night shift is planned tonight.

A video explaining the plan to stabilize the rock mass on the mountain has been posted on NCDOT’s YouTube Channel at http://www.youtube.com/NCDOTcommunications. Click on the “Shoring Up the Mountainside Where I-40 Rockslide Occurred” video.

More winter weather is expected to hit the area tonight, Friday and Saturday. The National Weather Service forecasts snow and sleet tonight and freezing rain on Friday.

Crews will try to work each day unless conditions on the steep, rocky terrain become too dangerous. They work on a slope that extends almost 800 feet high.

This section of Interstate 40 near the Tennessee border has been closed in both directions since the rockslide occurred Oct. 25.

NCDOT estimates that the interstate could be fully reopened sometime in March depending on weather conditions between now and then. A decision on any partial opening of the highway will be made as work progresses.

Travelers still can reach Western North Carolina via I-40 from the east and I-26 to the north and south. Exits 20 and 27 on I-40 provide access to popular destinations west of Asheville. In Tennessee, exits 432 through 451 provide access to popular destinations in southeastern Tennessee.

The detour route is 53 miles longer and is an additional 45 minutes to an hour driving time. Motorists traveling on I-40 West should take Exit 53B (I-240 West) in Asheville and follow I-240 West to Exit 4A (I-26 West). Follow I-26 West (a North Carolina Scenic Highway) to I-81 South in Tennessee. Take I-81 South and follow it back to I-40 at mile marker 421. Eastbound motorists should use the reverse directions.

NCDOT reminds motorists to stay alert, follow instructions on the message boards on the highways, obey the posted speed limit, leave early and travel at non-peak times when possible. Plan ahead before driving by visiting the NCDOT Traveler Information Management System Web site at www.ncdot.gov/traffictravel/ or calling 511, the state’s free travel information line, for current travel conditions.

NCDOT also provides alerts about traffic congestion and construction work on Twitter. To access them, go to www.ncdot.gov/travel/twitter/. For daily rockslide updates, please visit the NCDOT Web site at www.ncdot.gov and click on the I-40 rockslide daily news and information section or follow work on the rockslide project on Twitter at http://twitter.com/i40_rockslide.

Editor’s Note: Attached is a photo taken Jan. 28 of a staging area on top of the mountain where construction workers mix the grout used to cement into place the rock bolts.