I-95 Reopened in North Carolina; I-40 Remains Closed to Wilmington: Highway Closures Update and Detour Routes

I-40 closed florence flooding north carolina
A portion of I-40 to Wilmington remains closed in North Carolina, but all of I-95 has reopened in North Carolina as of late Sunday night. Florence flooding has closed many North Carolina highways. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Closed portions of Interstate 95 in North Carolina reopened to all traffic in the state, Governor Roy Cooper announced.

Officials had expected portions of I-95 to remain closed for days owing to the flooding. The governor said in a news release that floodwaters had receded faster than expected. Portions of I-95, a key north-south East Coast corridor, had been closed since September 15 due to flooding from Hurricane Florence.

A portion of Interstate 40 in North Carolina remained closed on Monday, however, according to the North Carolina Department of Transportation. I-40 remained closed from NC 41 (Exit 385) to Wilmington.

NCDOT also advised on Monday in its latest update that travels in these areas could be treacherous and should be avoided because of the flooding. Roads and bridges that were washed out include Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, Duplin, Jones, Lenoir, Pender, Robeson, Sampson, Scotland, and southeastern Wayne (south of 70 Business and east of US 117).

Also, NCDOT recommended the following routes for reaching cities, including Wilmington, Jacksonville, Kinston, New Bern, and Havelock and Morehead City.

Wilmington
From the south via US 17
From the north via I-40 east to NC 24 east (Exit 373) to US 17 south
From Fayetteville via NC 87 to US 701 south to NC 211 east to US 74 east

Jacksonville via I-40 to NC 24 (Exit 373)

Kinston via NC 11 south from Greenville

New Bern via US 17 south from Washington

Havelock and Morehead City via US 17 in Washington to New Bern, then take US 70 East

The governor said travel remained treacherous in parts of southeastern North Carolina, even as floodwaters had started to recede in some areas of his state, according to The Associated Press. He said people should remain aware of the dangers in still-flooded areas.

Cooper said: "Florence continues to bring misery to North Carolina," adding crews were still rescuing people who had driven into floodwaters over the weekend.

He said teams had conducted about 350 rescues, and that more than 5,200 people had been rescued since Florence slammed into the Carolinas on September 14 as a Category 1 hurricane, according to the AP, and that more than 3,700 people had to be evacuated.

The governor said authorities were now focusing on going door to door and conducting wellness checks on those in the flooded areas, the AP reported.

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