Following Hurricane Helene's devastating impact on western North Carolina in 2024, VHB helped the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) repair bridges throughout Buncombe County. The storm caused widespread damage to critical transportation infrastructure, isolating communities and disrupting essential connections throughout the region. Rather than simply repairing damaged infrastructure, the project focused on building long-term resilience against future storms.
VHB developed engineered repairs for more than 40 bridge sites damaged by the storm. The existing bridges were quickly reopened with limited capacity due to structural damage to bridges and culverts. VHB conducted damage assessments, prepared supplemental photo reports, performed engineering analyses, and coordinated decisions with NCDOT Bridge Maintenance for each site. VHB developed repair concepts for seven structures, ranging from guardrail replacements and approach washout repairs to scour mitigation beneath end bent caps using flowable fill and riprap.
Seventeen structures required full construction plans, specifications, and estimates with scopes including culvert wing repairs, end bent cap extensions, heat straightening deformed steel girders, drainage fixes, and retaining walls. Plans included structural details, hydraulic evaluations and erosion control plans, and traffic control plans. VHB also developed repair versus replacement memos for 20 sites, which included comparative cost estimates and coordination with NCDOT on the Federal Highway Administration and Federal Emergency Management Agency review.
