On Dec. 8, 2025, Policy on Tap brought together leaders from state, county, and city government for a timely conversation on infrastructure.
Hurricane Helene made clear how essential dependable roads, bridges and water systems are to daily life and economic activity. The program focused on transportation, Helene recovery planning, and water resources.
Read our recap below and view the presentation slides
Tim Anderson, Division 13 Engineer with the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), opened with DOT’s mission: connecting people. That purpose took on new urgency after Helene.
Division 13 spans seven counties and includes 1,523 bridges, many in challenging terrain. Anderson shared updates on major projects, including the I-26 Connector. Because of its size and complexity, the Connector is being delivered in phases using a mix of traditional and design-build approaches.
A key takeaway was the impact of rising costs. Construction prices, right-of-way acquisition, and utility relocations have all increased sharply in recent years and delays only compound those costs. Anderson described how NCDOT used an “optimization and refinement” process to reduce the Connector’s cost by roughly $125 million without eliminating essential features like lanes, sidewalks or multi-use paths. Design efficiencies included removing redundant elements and adjusting shoulder widths while maintaining safety.
Helene has become NCDOT’s most expensive disaster event to date (by a factor of 5), with thousands of repair sites across the region (over 4,000 sites in division 13).
Anderson explained how pre-positioned emergency contracts allowed crews and contractors to mobilize quickly, restoring access first and then transitioning to longer-term repairs and bridge replacements now under contract.
Anderson reminded all drivers that work zones and mountain roads require attention and urged everyone to slow down, avoid distracted driving and never drive impaired.
Kevin Madsen, Buncombe County’s Helene Recovery Officer, outlined how recovery efforts are being organized for the long term.
The county’s Helene Recovery Plan, adopted November 18, includes 114 projects across seven jurisdictions, with 31 county-led projects. Many of these are umbrella efforts that break into multiple sub-projects, each with its own scope and timeline.
Rather than treating recovery as a stand-alone effort, Madsen emphasized alignment. The Recovery Plan is tied directly to Buncombe County’s 2030 Strategic Plan, comprehensive planning and preparedness initiatives, helping ensure that funding and implementation decisions reinforce shared goals.
Madsen highlighted several resilience-focused efforts, including:
He also noted early progress, including FEMA public assistance funding already coming into the county and numerous grant applications underway to support recovery and mitigation work.
Bill Hart, Interim Director of Asheville Water Resources, and Clay Chandler, Public Information Officer, offered insight into operating a water system in a mountainous region.
Hart emphasized the challenge of moving water up and over mountains, which creates high pressures and increases the likelihood of breaks. Asheville Water Resources maintains 1,700 miles of water line with a team of 182 employees, addressing routine repairs even outside of disaster response.
Chandler outlined three major resilience priorities:
Chandler also discussed rising operational costs driven by regulatory requirements, including updates to the Lead and Copper Rule and expanded work-zone safety standards that increase staffing and equipment needs for repairs.