ASHEVILLE, N.C., Oct. 25 (UPI) -- A stretch of Interstate 40 in North Carolina could be blocked for months after it was buried by a rock slide Sunday, officials said.
The state Transportation Department said the massive slide occurred about 2 a.m. EDT in a steep gorge west of Asheville in the western portion of the state, The Charlotte Observer reported. No one was hurt by the slide, which initially was estimated to be 50 feet deep and 100 feet long, a DOT spokesman said.
The blockage means anyone traveling between North Carolina and Tennessee on I-40 will have to take a detour.
Officials were developing a strategy for removing rocks and dirt. They said it was too soon to predict when the highway would reopen, the newspaper said.
Twelve years ago, a rock slide not far from the site of Sunday's slide closed the interstate for three months.
