North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Parkway is very close to completely re-opening.
There are around 35 pesky miles of North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Parkway that have remained closed since Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc on the scenic roadway more than a year-and-a-half ago.
But the end of the road damage is finally in sight. Repairs on this remaining stretch, which spans from Linville Gorge to Mount Mitchell State Park, should be finished by the end of the year, according to Blue Ridge Parkway Superintendent Tracy Swartout.
“All of those projects are awarded. All of those projects are in construction as we speak,” Swartout said during a presentation to the Governor's Recovery Office for Western North Carolina on March 6. She called it “the best news ever.”
In the interim, though, expect to see a lot of heavy equipment and trucks full of gravel, especially in the area between Asheville and Mount Mitchell, Swartout said.
“You’re going to see some traffic,” she said. “And you might even have to slow down on the Parkway, which I know some people don't want to do. But slowing down on the Parkway, especially right now, is a good thing.”
Once the roads are complete, the Parkway will start on a plethora of other projects, including trail repair, debris removal, wildfire mitigation and the revival of the Linville Falls Visitor Center.
“It’s a shocking amount of work,” said Lisa Brandon, a spokesperson for the Parkway. “The theme of the first 16 months or so was just get the damn road open.”
In total, Hurricane Helene caused $1.7 billion in damage to the Blue Ridge Parkway.
State receives $75 million for child care facilities
At Friday’s meeting, GROW NC members also took some time to celebrate the arrival of new funds to support child care infrastructure.
The federal government announced $75.8 million for facilities damaged by Hurricane Helene and Tropical Storm Debby. This money will funnel through the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
Helene damaged more than 230 child care facilities. Debby, which occurred about two months before Helene, damaged about 100 facilities. The money will be available through 2030 and will support new construction and repair of facilities, along with materials, equipment, activities and mental health services.
“I'm really grateful not just for the federal government, but also for the state government and for the various child care centers who have been very communicative about their needs,” said GROW NC Director Matt Calabria. “And so, hopefully, that $75 million will go a very long way in helping support them throughout the region.”
The money for the program comes from the American Relief Act of 2024. So far, a little more than $3 billion from that $110 billion package has been allocated for recovery programs in North Carolina.
