‘Surreal’: NCDOT assessing Hurricane Helene damage

BAT CAVE, N.C. (FOX Carolina) - It’s been nearly a year since Hurricane Helene hit Western North Carolina.

Since then, the North Carolina Department of Transportation has worked around the clock to reconstruct parts of WNC that are changed forever.

One area hit hard by Helene was Bat Cave. A quick car ride along the back roads of Bat Cave show Helene’s mark on the area.

“It’s definitely surreal seeing this in person, the damage that the hurricane caused,” Ali Gering Assistant Resident Engineer with NCDOT District 14 said.

Nearly a year later, piles of debris still line the roads where the remains of washed-out bridges sit. However, NCDOT is working hard to reconstruct these rural areas.

“The DOT, we are trying to build back more resilient roadways and try to ensure that in an event li