U.S. 19/74 back in business following mere 18-hour closure
Crews began working at sunrise Saturday to clear a mudslide in the Nantahala Gorge, which occurred after heavy rainfall Friday. Photo courtesy of N.C. Department of Transportation
Nantahala – The latest U.S. 19/74 mudslide only halted traffic for 18 hours.
After incurring numerous issues around the area of the Nantahala Gorge’s Ferebee Recreation Park, N.C. Department of Transportation officials arrived on the scene of a slide, which occurred about 3 miles west of the Nantahala Outdoor Center, around 9 p.m. Friday. Crews got right to work, as engineers diverted the excess rainwater to a ditch and through a pipe to keep the highway from washing out Friday night. At daybreak Saturday, an excavator filled six different dump trucks with debris.
The road reopened for travel around 3 p.m. Saturday.