Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg visited Western North Carolina on Thursday to survey the severe infrastructural damage caused by Hurricane Helene.
He was joined by Governor Roy Cooper, Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer and Canton Mayor Zeb Smathers, along with a handful of NCDOT officials.
Ahead of Buttigieg's visit, BPR's Laura Hackett spoke with him about the great infrastructure needs of the area in the aftermath of the storm.
One big point of discussion was how to build back roads for a more climate-resilient future.
"Many locations that were not considered to be a flood zone, just a few years ago, are now clearly vulnerable," Buttigieg said.
"And so it doesn't make sense to continue to expect designs and technologies and strategies that worked 50 years ago or 100 years ago to make sense in the 21st century."
Slope stabilization, an increase in evacuation routes and heightened roads were some of the ideas Buttigieg suggested to help ward the region off from future infrastructural disaster.
The transportation department has so far pledged $100 million in emergency funding to help with road repairs.
