Rolling stones gather some costs along I-40.

• Position: Western

It was bad enough that rain fell seven of nine weekends during western North Carolina's late summer and leaf-watching seasons. But when the side of a mountain gave way and buried a section of Interstate 40, the region found itself between a rockslide and a hard place, partly because of geography-challenged motorists. Economic developer Scott Hamilton was getting inquiries such as, "Can I get to Asheville from Winston-Salem?" even though the slide had closed the interstate on the other side of Asheville, near the Tennessee border "It's a perception problem," the CEO of AdvantageWest Economic Development Group says. "People think the mountains are closed."

They aren't, but the region's economy is likely to be a little rockier than usual until the interstate, a primary artery for commercial and recreational travel, is dug out. Estimates vary, but that could be in February or later, after a $10 million cleanup.

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The tourism sector will shoulder the heaviest burden. Ski resort owners, part of an industry that contributes $120 million a year in direct spending to the region, worry about negative impacts. Lynn Collins, Haywood County's tourism director, says Cataloochee and Sapphire Valley, the state's southernmost ski resorts...