North Carolina officials initially estimated the road to Big Chimney would take several months to almost a year to complete. Blue-collar workers, team of volunteer West Virginia coal miners, prevailed over bureaucracy by rebuilding a road at breakneck speed on their own terms – allowing residents to finally return home, and they accomplished the task in less than a week.

Also thanks to Paul Panson at A&P for donating additional equipment and manpower. 

Left to right: Charles Dunbar Darrell McCune Jimmy Wood Stephen Boone Jeff Barnhouse (with Rock Solid Construction) Ben Harris Derek Butler Bobby Thomas Jon Campbell

“The DOT (North Carolina Department of Transportation) said ‘yeah, we’ll send some engineers down here and assess the situation.’

“The Army Corps of Engineers took a look and said they’d send some surveyors and engineers, I told them you might as well not waste your time because the West Virginia guys will have this road built before you finish your paperwork,” Lewis continued.

“Then the West Virginia boys came in and said, ‘We’ll have this road punched in in about three days.’ No s–t,” he recalled.

Not a final approved DOT road but an access road to get the people in and out with a SxS or a 4x4 truck.

https://nypost.com/2024/10/27/us-news/west-va-boys-build-road-so-helene-victims-can-go-home

https://www.facebook.com/WVGovernor/posts/pfbid021HwVVjiiUD3Q39hXKwz4ufXbJgAeg455fAtv3bFqPvBFaXbth2GiwrjBcJn798kPl