Tangie Morgan is the mayor of the small town of Saluda in Polk County.
She’s also the owner and manager of the M. A. Pace General Store, which she says is one of the oldest stores in North Carolina.
“See, this is my family’s business,” Morgan told BPR on a recent afternoon. “It started in the 1890s. And yeah, 176 has affected us.”
By “176,” Morgan means U.S. 176, the state highway connecting Saluda to communities like Hendersonville to the northwest and Tryon and Landrum to the southeast.
Ever since Hurricane Helene, a winding stretch of about 1.2 miles linking Tryon and Saluda has been impassable, leaving locals and visitors alike searching for detours.
As of the end of 2025, more than 97% of the state-maintained roads damaged by Helene have reopened, according to North Carolina Department of Transportation statistics.
But about two-dozen roads remain impassable — and those remaining road closures continue to make life challenging for some local communities.
“You know, 176 kind of connects all the towns together,” Morgan said. “And with that being closed, it kind of isolates us from the other towns, which has affected our business, personally.”
Because of the road’s closure, most drivers end up taking Interstate 26, which runs parallel to 176 a few miles away. But Morgan said that comes with its own problems: the traffic is often heavy on I-26 because of construction, people drive at high rates of speed, and accidents are common. What's more, small towns like Saluda are just a sign on the side of the highway.
“It’s hard on people, you know?” she said. “Because I think if they get out on the Interstate, they may just keep going, and they bypass us. And that’s not a good thing.”
WNC saw $5 billion in damage to 1,500 state roads
Part of the reason the repair of U.S. 176 is taking so long is the number of entities involved in the pre-construction process, according to David Uchiyama, an NCDOT spokesperson.
“We’re still getting all of the environmental documentation, working with our federal partners, coordinating with the Army Corps of Engineers, working with the utility companies that have their own whole mess to figure out, as well as working with our folks in the right-of-way office, property owners in the area and acquiring all the permits necessary,” Uchiyama said.
All of those parts of the puzzle have to be in order before the first piece of dirt can be moved, he added.
Overall, the state plans to spend $5 billion repairing the roughly 1,500 roads damaged by the storm, with the federal government expected to cover about 80% of the cost.
A significant amount of work has already been done. According to an NCDOT presentation earlier this month, so far crews across the state have repaired 7,309 damage sites, 585 state bridges and more than 1,600 culvert pipes damaged by Helene.
But much more work remains, including long-term projects such as the repair of U.S. 19W North and South in Yancey County and U.S. 64/74A in Rutherford and Henderson counties.
The most complex — and expensive — project is the repair of a 12-mile stretch of Interstate 40 in the Pigeon River Gorge, which is expected to cost $1.3 billion and be completed in late 2028.
Like U.S. 176, the damaged part of I-40 sits in a steep gorge with a rushing river below.
But Uchiyama said there’s a considerable difference in scale between an interstate and a state highway: “That comparison is like comparing a gingerbread house to the Biltmore Mansion.”
‘I just avoid going north if I can’
The damaged stretch of U.S. 176 sits about halfway between Tryon and Saluda, in a gorge along the North Pacolet River. At the barriers declaring the road’s closure, the only sounds are the chirping of birds and a distant dog barking.
Further along, entire chunks of the roadway have crumbled into the river. Guardrails are twisted, mangled and hanging in thin air after the rushing floodwaters washed away the earth beneath them.
On the other side of the closed road is the town of Tryon, where longtime resident Monica Jones was out shopping on a recent afternoon.
“Saluda’s a sister village,” Jones said. “And we have not had access to it. I-26 has been so bad — really bad, with all the construction and the accidents that they’re having. I just avoid going north if I can.”
Jones said she used to sell some items on consignment at a store in Saluda, but she ended up taking them out because she didn’t want to deal with frequent travel on the Interstate. She said the closure of 176 has had a “huge impact” on the town.
“And we really, really miss it. And I’m sure that it has affected the businesses here as much as it has affected Saluda too,” Jones said.
Behind the scenes, the repair process is quietly moving forward. Uchiyama, the NCDOT spokesperson, said the state will begin accepting bids from contractors next spring, with construction set to begin as early as April.
“So many pieces of paper are being moved,” Uchiyama said. “So many designs are being drawn up right now as you and I have this conversation. But folks aren’t seeing it on the ground. And so that is why a few folks are a little upset – and understandably so.”
While NCDOT hasn’t yet set a date for reopening, once completed, the U.S. 176 project will include a new retaining wall, guardrails, a toe wall and more.
In the meantime, residents like Morgan and Jones are waiting — as are others all across the region.
