‘Y’all. What are we doing?’ Truck routes stressed as semis stuck, slide off small NC mountain roads after I-40 closure

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — In addition to closing 20 miles of Interstate 40 last week in the North Carolina mountains to the Tennessee state line, heavy rains and mudslides triggered the closure of several roads to tractor-trailers.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation said U.S. 441, a heavily traveled road for big rigs, was among those closed to 18-wheelers.

At least 20 roads are listed as closed to trucks following the torrential rains last week that flooded highways and triggered rockslides, according to the NCDOT website.

The closure of I-40 from mile marker 20 to the Tennessee state line from mudslides has pushed key shipping traffic onto other highways. Some truckers are apparently trying to use non-truck-approved roads.

On Monday, the NCDOT wrote: “Y’all. What are we doing here?” and posted photos on social media of trucks struck or struggling on tight mountain roads — where they should not be.

NCDOT officials made special note of large trucks banned in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

About six weeks after Hurricane Helene, officials ran into the same issue with the tractor-trailers.

Law enforcement handed out more than 100 tickets in one day in mid-November as drivers of “large trucks” tried to use “non-truck routes” to cross the North Carolina-Tennessee border, the NCDOT said.

About 2.5 to 3.5 inches of rain fell in the area over the I-40 area in about three hours on Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.

The official detour takes drivers heading west on I-40 up Interstate 26 at Asheville, North Carolina, to Johnson City, Tennessee, and then south down Interstate 81 back to I-40.

The Associated Press contributed to this report