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Five months later, NC to Tennessee connection is open, with limits

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Five months later, NC to Tennessee connection is open, with limits


For the first time since Hurricane Helene in late September, drivers can travel on Interstate 40 from North Carolina to Tennessee. 

The highway at Pigeon River Gorge was washed out in the storm, forcing hours-long detours along the route between the two states. 

After about a billion dollars and five months of work, a single lane in each direction opened to traffic on Saturday.

David Uchiyama, communications officer for the North Carolina Department of Transportation in the Western Mountains, says getting these 12 miles of road
back open has been an extraordinary effort.

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“People have put in a lot of blood, sweat and tears, and in
conditions where the tears would freeze to the face, because it is cold,” he said.

To protect the travel lanes from further mud slides, NCDOT, Wright Brothers and GeoStablization International drove steel rods into bedrock, filled the rods with grout, applied a metal screen and sprayed concrete on the face of the walls.

They also fortified four miles of the shoulder for truck traffic.

Uchiyama says DOT crews have thoroughly stabilized and
inspected the reopened lanes. 

“As a matter of fact, I saw the geotech engineers walking the
entire stretch, and I mean left foot, right foot,” he said.

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And the work is far from complete. The 12-mile stretch, from Cold Springs Creek Road in North Carolina to Big Creek Road in Tennessee, is just two single lanes, narrower than before, and speed is limited to 35 mph. 

“This opening improves the flow of people, goods and services between our two states and between locations far beyond Haywood County,” said Wanda Payne, an engineer with NDOT.

There is still a very long road ahead to fully heal the scars left by Helene — work that will be measured in years. Travelers should still expect delays through the mountains and consider whether alternate routes would be better.

North Carolina government has already entered a contract for the road’s permanent reconstruction. Transportation Secretary Joey Hopkins told state lawmakers this week it would be late 2026 before the section can resume fully to four lanes, provided that stone can be quarried from the adjoining Pisgah National Forest. Otherwise, he said, it could take two to three additional years longer, because trucks will have to ship stone in from Tennessee.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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North Carolina man extradited to Pa. for $100,000 ATM theft spree: police

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North Carolina man extradited to Pa. for 0,000 ATM theft spree: police


A 42-year-old North Carolina man on Tuesday was extradited to Pennsylvania after state police said he stole more than $100,000 from ATMs in Snyder and Union counties.

Between Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, Antoni J. Garcia-Cordoba, of Raleigh, North Carolina, stole from four ATMs at Central Penn Bank and Trust locations, state police said.

In a five-hour span, Garcia-Cordoba took $43,000 from three separate ATMs in Snyder and Union counties, according to a police report. On Oct. 1, he stole an additional $58,000 from an ATM in Titusville, bringing the total amount stolen to $101,000.

Garcia-Cordoba is charged with two counts of corrupt organizations – employee, a first-degree felony, and two counts of theft by unlawful taking, a third-degree felony.

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After being in custody at a jail in Boone County, Missouri, Garcia-Cordoba was extradited to Union County on Tuesday.

He is being held in the Union County Prison after being unable to post $100,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 13, 2026.



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11 firefighters and 2 others injured after North Carolina house fire and explosion

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11 firefighters and 2 others injured after North Carolina house fire and explosion


SALISBURY, N.C. — Eleven firefighters and two other people were injured in a house fire explosion in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, officials said.

Salisbury Fire Chief Bob Parnell said firefighters did not have life-threatening injuries but were getting treated for contusions, concussions and smoke inhalation following the fire Monday evening. Two other people were taken to the hospital, but Parnell said he didn’t know their conditions and couldn’t confirm whether they were in the house at the time of the fire.

The Salisbury Fire Department responded to the single-family home around 5 p.m. and found it engulfed in flames.

Eleven of the 22 firefighters at the scene went inside the house to search for occupants and “get water on that fire,” which preceded the explosion, Panell said at a news conference.

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“It was enough force that the outside walls blew out, the roof came up and went back down,” Parnell said.

An investigation of the fire and explosion is continuing.



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Harrison Bertos scores in OT to help Washington beat N.C. State 3-2 and win first Men’s College Cup

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Harrison Bertos scores in OT to help Washington beat N.C. State 3-2 and win first Men’s College Cup


CARY, N.C. (AP) — Harrison Bertos scored 1:54 into overtime after Washington blew a two-goal lead in the second half, and the Huskies beat North Carolina State 3-2 to win the Men’s College Cup at First Horizon Stadium on Monday night.

It was the first national championship for unseeded Washington (16-6-2), who became the first team to win six road matches in the tournament — beating six seeded teams along the way under the guidance of coach Jamie Clark. The Huskies won in their second trip to the final after losing 2-0 to Clemson in 2021.

No. 15 seed N.C. State (16-3-4) made the final for the first time behind coach Marc Hubbard. The Wolfpack were aiming for the school’s first national championship since Jim Valvano led the men’s basketball team to the title in 1983.

Zach Ramsey scored unassisted with 1:12 remaining in the first half and Washington took a 1-0 lead into the break. It was only the second time this season that N.C. State trailed at halftime.

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Ramsey scored into an empty net after Wolfpack goalkeeper Logan Erb couldn’t corral the ball at the top of the box. It was Ramsey’s second goal of the tournament.

Richie Aman sent a cross to the center of the goal and Joe Dale knocked it in for a 2-0 lead in the 62nd minute.

Donavan Phillip answered in the 66th, scoring with an assist from Nikola Markovic to cut it to 2-1 with his fourth goal of the tournament. The Wolfpack entered 11-0-1 when Phillip scores.

Taig Healy scored the equalizer with 3:28 remaining with assists from Justin Mclean and Calem Tommy.

Egor Akulov had an assist on Bertos’ winner.

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Huskies keeper Jadon Bowton, the only remaining player from the 2021 squad, had five saves.

Erb saved six shots for N.C. State, which was the last school to concede a goal this season.

The temperature was 28 degrees when the match between two teams that had never faced each other began.



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