AASHTO Journal - NCDOT Employees Recognized for Hurricane Heroism

Five North Carolina Department of Transportation employees and a North Carolina state trooper were recently honored with the Governor’s Award for Excellence for their heroic actions to save lives on I-40 in the Pigeon River Gorge during catastrophic flooding caused by Hurricane Helene in 2024.

[Above photo by NCDOT]

A Governor’s Award for Excellence is the highest honor a state employee may receive for service to North Carolina and its residents; an award recognizing state employees for their outstanding accomplishments beyond their normal duties.

“These employees used their training and followed exactly what their natural instincts instructed them to do — help those around them by any means possible,” noted Daniel Johnson, NCDOT secretary, in a statement. “Their courageous actions in a chaotic moment prevented what could have been a catastrophe.”

The employees honored during a Nov. 19 ceremony at the State Archives of North Carolina in Raleigh are:

Scottie Coggins — Division 14 assistant roadside environmental engineer
David Hall — Division 14 roadside environmental transportation supervisor
Sgt. Joe Henderson with the NC State Highway Patrol
Garett McFalls — Western NC Incident Management Assistance Patrol or IMAP senior responder
Austin Phillips — Division 14 roadside environmental engineer
Christopher Strader — Western NC IMAP senior responder

On September 28, 2024, all five rushed to I-40 in the gorge as torrential rain from Hurricane Helene swelled the Pigeon River to the point where chunks of the eastbound lanes of the interstate started falling into the river. First the embankment, then the shoulder, and then asphalt disappeared – leaving gaping craters where the road used to be.

As those employees arrived on the scene, motorists had stopped their vehicles and were unable to move as the interstate disappeared around them. McFalls, Strader, and Sgt. Henderson quickly devised a plan to move traffic away from the dangerous floodwaters. As Henderson and Strader ushered eastbound traffic closer to the concrete median separating the two sides of the highway, McFalls quickly reached the nearest metal barrier gate where he discovered panicked drivers had already opened it to allow one car to pass through at a time.

Those three employees began sending passenger vehicles through the median while Coggins, Hall, and Phillips joined McFalls to open a larger section of the median so tractor trailers could switch to the western side of the interstate. Thanks to their quick efforts, everyone made it out of the gorge safely.

“They went above and beyond to serve in the line of duty, to protect the public, to act as heroes,” said Chris Lee, NCDOT’s deputy division engineer for Highway Division 14 in Western North Carolina. “They saved the day and we’re so proud of them.”

Their efforts made statewide news in November but, as Strader said a year ago, they were only doing their jobs.