Thanks to work by NCDOT, a new stretch of Highway 9 from Bat Cave to Chimney Rock is a thrill for locals now that the road is open and ready for cars.

A major stretch of road is back open in Western North Carolina after being damaged by Hurricane Helene. Work completed by the Department of Transportation reopened Highway Nine for residents, the ...

The new cave-dwelling leech species is believed to exist solely on bat blood, according to researchers. Li, T. et al. (2025.) The leech’s specialized diet of bat blood has allowed it to survive ...