landslide on I-40: look for much heavier traffic through Johnson City... (Kingsport: 2009, moving)

[kamoshika]

Driving back to Kingsport from Flag Pond yesterday, I-26 was by far the busiest I've ever seen it.

“Traffic counts fluctuate, but right now, it looks like 23,000 travel the closed section of I-40 each day...That section of I-26 has a daily traffic count in the 50,000-vehicle range, so you are going to see a significant increase in traffic along that section of I-26 until the slide is cleared.”
Rock slide expected to block I-40 for months

It could take up to three months to completely clear debris on Interstate 40 after a rock slide early Sunday morning closed the highway in both directions at mile marker 3 in Haywood County, according to officials with the N.C. Department of Transportation.
Cleanup of rock slide on Interstate 40 will take weeks | CITIZEN-TIMES.com | Asheville Citizen-Times

Photo gallery of the slide:
CITIZEN-TIMES.com: Photo Gallery: I-40 Rock slide 10-25-09

[gsp4ever]

UGH...this should make for an interesting travel weekend over Thanksgiving

[Tony1790]

I came back from Carowinds last night and traffic on I-26 over the mountain was horrid, lots of tractor trailers and lots of fast moving traffic. Usually cars go about 60-65 mph thru there due to heavy trooper monitoring on the NC side, last night the cars were doing 75-80 mph, crazy. Glad to see when I-40 gets fixed, I'll be commuting to NC starting 2 weeks from today and don't need that kind of "company" on the road. Be careful crossing the mountain and on I-26 here in JC.

Tony

[jabogitlu]

I did some I-26 travel between Boones Creek and Unicoi and noticed traffic counts were way up.

However I'm wondering "What" section of I-26 the article's referring to. I can't imagine I-26 past the Elizabethton/ETSU exit having anywhere CLOSE to 50,000/day, especially going over the mountain. Maybe I'm way wrong, though.

[rccrain]

I suspect you're correct. 50K has to be around the Roan and Browns Mill exits.

[kamoshika]

Originally Posted by jabogitlu

I can't imagine I-26 past the Elizabethton/ETSU exit having anywhere CLOSE to 50,000/day, especially going over the mountain. Maybe I'm way wrong, though.

You're right, the 2008 traffic count at the Okalona exit was about 22,000. That count jumped to about 50,000 at the Elizabethton/ETSU exit (23) and went as high as 55,000 between JC and Gray (exit 13).

Traffic counts between Sam's Gap and Erwin were in the 10-11,000 range so that stretch may see triple its normal volume.

[mbmouse]

Hubby and I came back from Gatlinburg yesterday evening...I-81 was CRAZY with truck traffic! What really stinks about it is that due to there not usually being a whole lot of truck traffic on that road, there is no rule posted about the trucks staying in the right lane. Boy, we were creeping up the hill to Greene County at a whopping 45 mph...in a 70 zone of course. Those trucks are loaded down, driving side by side, going up a slow steep grade....gona make for some road rage issues I am afraid.

[jabogitlu]

That's kinda how 81 always is though. Or it was when I was driving back and forth twice a week. Of course now all the southbound truck traffic is coming up, too, as opposed to just northbound. So yeah... twice the amount of slow trucks.

[kamoshika]

State transportation officials warned Tuesday that work clearing Interstate 40 after the most destructive rock slide in more than a decade could take longer than first expected.

...The agency has yet to settle on a precise timetable for the cleanup. The original estimate of three months will probably prove unrealistic, said Joel Setzer, the chief highway engineer for the region.

That means it could be February or later before the interstate reopens.
3 months for I-40 rock slide cleanup ‘unrealistic' | citizen-times.com | Asheville Citizen-Times

[mbmouse]

I was moving up here from FL in 97 when the last rock slide closed I40. What a mess and seemed to take forever!