Just drove through Florence less than 12 hours ago on our way back from NJ last night. There were still overhead signs warning drivers not to go around barricades, but there were no barricades to be found. It was dark when we drove through, but I could see lots of fallen trees on the side of the highway.
The reason I don't take I-81 to I-40 to I-75 when coming from the North East is because I live 2 miles from I-95. I-75 is a few hundred miles away. And I-81 is about 100+ miles west of our starting point in the NE. I hate driving through VA on I-95, but I'm not going that far out of my way to avoid it. Our 800 mile trip in the MH from NJ to GA yesterday to 5 minutes shy of 14 hours. We lost about 30 minutes driving through VA, surprisingly traffic was mostly south of Northern VA.
-Michael