Good news about Hurricane Helene recovery efforts in Asheville – police have confirmed there is only one missing person left.
At one point, more than 500 people were missing, Asheville Police Department officers said.
Police told Channel 9 the hardest part was making contact with people without internet or cell service. Out of respect for the family, the department is not releasing the identity of the missing person.
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Earlier this month, Channel 9 reported on Norfolk Southern’s efforts to repair hundreds of miles of track in Western North Carolina.
Officials told Channel 9’s Dave Faherty they are still assessing damage from Old Fort to Asheville.
The track along Mill Creek was severely damaged by the floods. Travel toward Black Mountain and you’ll see where major repairs need to be made along the headwaters of the Swannanoa River.
Landslides eroded large sections of track toward Asheville, and Norfolk Southern says railroad workers have cut down 15,000 trees so far.
Near Black Mountain, an asphalt company relies on trucks to deliver asphalt. Due to the damaged tracks, the tank wagons can no longer get there.
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The company says it is working hard to reopen service from the Tennessee line to Asheville and hopes that will happen by the end of March.
Channel 9 spoke to several people living in some of the hardest-hit areas, including one man who lost his home and two cars in the storm. He was also here when the spores washed away.
“I said, ‘Golly!’ It was terrible. I couldn’t even see the tracks,” Lee Grooms told Channel 9.
Railroad company CSX says 60 miles of its tracks have extensive damage and they can no longer transport millions of tons of products near the North Carolina-Tennessee rail line.
Brandon Allen showed Channel 9 the damage to the railroad behind his home along the headwaters of the Swannanoa River. He says a diver was washed away, taking the soil under the tracks with him.
“I was surprised,” Allen said. “I didn’t realize how bad it would get. The water on the other side of the tracks is about two feet below the rails.”
Statement from CSX:
“CSX continues to work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and other state and federal agencies to ensure rail infrastructure is restored to the Nolichucky River in a safe and responsible manner. CSX remains committed to adhering to USACE guidelines and all regulatory requirements to undertake the complex and challenging work of rebuilding this infrastructure so critical to the regional and national supply chain.
“Information about CSX repair efforts and Hurricane Helene’s impacts on rail infrastructure can be found at Rehabilitation of the CSX Blue Ridge Subdivision web page.”
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