A stretch of Interstate 40 through the western North Carolina mountains is reopening to traffic this weekend, months after Hurricane Helene’s historic flooding collapsed portions of the road, partially restoring the major travel connection with eastern Tennessee.

After a five-month closure due to Hurricane Helene, a 12-mile stretch of I-40 near the Tennessee border will reopen on Saturday.

The North Carolina House pushed forward $500 million in aid to rebuild the western part of the state from the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene, roughly half the amount Gov. Josh Stein (D-NC) asked for.

It will cost $60 billion for North Carolina to recover from Hurricane Helene, according to the latest state estimate. “The challenges in relation to this are so enormous,” Thomas Chandler, deputy director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University,

Another $500 million would be spent toward Hurricane Helene recovery efforts in North Carolina in legislation approved unanimously by the state House.

NORTH CAROLINA, USA — As Western North Carolina marks five months since Hurricane Helene, nonprofits on the ground helping since Day 1 say there's still lots of work left to do.

North Carolina state lawmakers advanced their fourth round of disaster relief funding Tuesday, a $500 million package for western counties impacted by Helene.