From Staff Reports

BAT CAVE, N.C. — U.S. 64 into Bat Cave reopened on March 28 after sustaining Tropical Storm Helene damage on Sept. 27 2024 and being closed to visitors ever since, the North Carolina Department of Transportation announced in a March 24 news release,

NCDOT Resident Engineer Mike Patton noted in the release that the reopening is of the stretch of U.S. 64 going from Slick Rock Road to where the highway intersects U.S. 74.

To that end, Blythe Construction crews reopened the highway in a “temporary pattern” on March 28, as they finish reconstructing the Helene-damaged corridor.

Engineers said this stretch of U.S. 64 will be fully open by Memorial Day, with the project costing about $25 million, $7 million under budget.

“We are excited to open this critical route into Bat Cave, Chimney Rock and the surrounding communities that were devastated by Hurricane Helene,” Division 14 Engineer Wesley Grindstaff said in the release. “Our crews, and all of our contractors, have done a tremendous job from the initial emergency assessments to recent resurfacing.”

Remaining tasks include stabilizing and constructing the eastbound lane, with temporary traffic signals managing traffic, NCDOT stated.

U.S. 64 into Bat Cave previously only allowed local traffic, while contract crews graded, installed new drainage, stabilized slopes and built retaining walls, NCDOT said. Other reconstruction operations were also carried out to rebuild the road that narrowed to less than one lane in several spots after Helene.

The  release said crews removed 20,000 cubic yards of debris and 4,000 cubic yards of dirt and placed 57,000 tons of rock to rebuild the road.

“It’s a pleasure to invite folks on our roads back to Bat Cave, Chimney Rock and Lake Lure,” Grindstaff said in the release. “The hurricane left its mark on us, but it also revealed how well we can all come together in incredible ways for each other after a disaster.”

This stretch of U.S. 64 is the first of the Helene-damaged major corridors to open with final repairs, according to NCDOT.

Meanwhile, the “Comment Bubble” appearing after a story by Asheville television station WLOS (News 13) on the road link reopening included the following assertion:

• Scooter123 — “Though just a highway to some, it is fantastic news for many.  It is good to read — for a change — of things more on a positive note and that there is still good news to report on amongst the bad.”