The federal response to Hurricane Helene in North Carolina and Tennessee could have been easily mistaken for a calculated campaign of ethnic cleansing. The White House ignored the storm damage in Appalachia, taking over a week to even acknowledge it existed. //

The slow-rolling of repairs on I-40 appeared to be just another part of the plan to depopulate North Carolina's Appalachian region and flip the state from purple to bright blue. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, who'd already displayed his particular brand of incompetence by taking "paternity leave" (lol) and the Third World response to a container ship dropping the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, said, "It will take billions of dollars and months, if not years" to reopen I-40. //

The newly opened road section does have speed restrictions and can't be used by trucks with oversized loads, but that will gradually improve. For the time being, the communities and businesses along I-40 have a functioning highway.

Officials estimate it will take another two to three years to fully restore I-40 to its original four-lane capacity. However, this timeline is contingent on several factors, including material availability and weather conditions.

It could take that long if enough governmental entities drag their feet. I'd just point out that it didn't take three years to build this section of I-40 during its original construction in 1958.