Kentucky has sent around 150 state highway workers to help assist with flood recovery in North Carolina. Transportation Secretary Jim Gray had a chance to spend some time in Asheville this past weekend with the Kentucky workers.
The transportation secretary said seven crews are helping out around Asheville and another four crews are in Booneville. Gray said state workers are helping repair culverts, bridges and approaches. And these crews had a feel for the job coming in.
“The reason that our folks are so effective is that they have the experience of dealing with mountainous terrain, mountainous territory here in Kentucky,” said Gray.
He said they also went through recovery efforts following major Eastern Kentucky flooding just over two years ago. Gray said state officials in North Carolina just asked that Kentucky crews be self-sufficient when it comes to equipment and repair expertise.
Gray spoke about one crew that found visible appreciation the first night there in western North Carolina.
“When one of our crews went into a restaurant to get dinner. This was a restaurant that was actually functioning, had water, and had electricity and gas to function. And our folks were given a standing ovation by the people in the restaurant,” he said.
Gray said the assistance offered by state crews from Kentucky allows North Carolina transportation workers to focus on damage caused to Interstate 40. Kentucky workers came from various parts of the commonwealth, so resources were not spread too thin. Gray added North Carolina officials have asked Kentucky workers to help out up until Thanksgiving.
(This story first ran on WEKU, the public radio station at Eastern Kentucky University.)
