BLADENBORO, N.C. (AP) – North Carolina’s governor Roy Cooper has announced that Interstate 95 has been reopened to all traffic within the state after being shut down for just over a week because of flooding from Hurricane Florence.
Cooper announced the surprise development Sunday night in a news release.
The major highway runs north-south across the eastern part of the state and runs just east of Fayetteville.
Officials had thought portions of the highway would continue to be underwater for days, but Cooper said floodwaters had receded faster than expected.
However, part of I-40 near Wilmington remains closed.
NCDOT says statewide 455 roads are still shut down because of damage from Florence.
In other news, rivers swelling with the floodwaters of former Hurricane Florence are threatening to swamp communities near the South Carolina coast, leaving thousands ready to evacuate.
More than a week after Florence crashed into the Carolinas, all the water from heavy rains is nearing the coast and people are being told to be ready to evacuate starting Monday.
