Sunday roads update: Most roads in southeastern NC impassable [View all]

RALEIGH
Think twice before you attempt to drive on any road in southeastern North Carolina.

The storm surge and heavy rain from Hurricane Florence have made roads, streets and highways impassable in that part of the state. And on Saturday, the N.C. Department of Transportation advised that all roads south of U.S. 64 and east of Interstate 73/74 be avoided.

I-73/74 runs vertically from Asheboro to Richmond County, which borders South Carolina. U.S. 64 stretches from Raleigh past Nashville and Tarboro to Plymouth on the coast.

Florence hovered over southeastern North Carolina and South Carolina overnight Saturday, dumping record amounts of rain. In many cases, flooding blocked motorists from some of North Carolina’s key thoroughfares.

To avoid I-95, DOT suggested “an extremely long detour” for southbound drivers: use I-64 West in Virginia to I-81 south, to I-75 south in Tennessee to I-16 East in Georgia back to I-95. DOT suggested the inverse route for northbound drivers.

DOT’s update Saturday night came after it had previously announced road closings on U.S. 70 between Kinston and New Bern; U.S. 17 from New Bern south to the Jones County line; U.S. 421 near the USS North Carolina battleship in Wilmington and U.S. 264 in several areas, including downtown Washington, on both sides of Belhaven and west of Swan Quarter.

Road closures began Thursday near the coast, as the tidal surge overtopped low-lying roads. N.C. 12 is closed on Hatteras Island, and parts of U.S. 70 are shut down between Beaufort and Atlantic, as floodwaters covered the pavement in numerous places, according to the N.C. Department of Transportation.

Many roads and streets in Craven County are also flooded, including East Front Street in New Bern. The Trent River drawbridge is closed, and the ramp from southbound U.S. 17 on to Front Street has collapsed.


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