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NCDOT receives national awards for Helene response

A section of I-40 outside of Asheville flooded by rising waters of the French Broad River following Helene.
Courtesy NCDOT
More than 24 hours before Helene struck, NCDOT’s flood-alert tools predicted that I-40 outside of Asheville would flood, giving crews time to prepare and avoid crashes at that location.

North Carolina’s Department of Transportation was recently recognized by the National Operations Center of Excellence for its response to Helene last year.

NCDOT received the Best Transportation Systems Management & Operations Project Award as well as “Best Overall Winner.” The awards highlight the Department’s use of technology to keep the public informed during and after the storm.

NCDOT Communications Officer Andrew Barksdale points to their flood warning system as one example. Before Helene’s arrival in North Carolina, it predicted a one-mile section of Interstate 40 near the French Broad River in Buncombe County would flood by two feet.

"And we told the emergency management, we told the highway division staff in that area, and they were shocked," he says. "They were like, well, it's never flooded. We don't ever have a history of I-40 topping with water over the French Broad River, but our modeling said it was going to."

State Highway Patrol responded to the warning, turned on flashing lights, and used their vehicles to shut down I-40, which was eventually overcome by eight feet of flood water.

Officials say the decision to mobilize prevented people from driving onto the flooded highway, with potentially deadly results.

Before his arrival in the Triad, David had already established himself as a fixture in the Austin, Texas arts scene as a radio host for Classical 89.5 KMFA. During his tenure there, he produced and hosted hundreds of programs including Mind Your Music, The Basics and T.G.I.F. Thank Goodness, It's Familiar, which each won international awards in the Fine Arts Radio Competition. As a radio journalist with 88.5 WFDD, his features have been recognized by the Associated Press, Public Radio News Directors Inc., Catholic Academy of Communication Professionals, and Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas. David has written and produced national stories for NPR, KUSC and CPRN in Los Angeles and conducted interviews for Minnesota Public Radio's Weekend America.

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