Bridges

Current events, close to home - warning these photos are current but show damages remaining from Sept. 27, 2024's floods from Hurricane Helene.

 When driving by the Swannanoa "business district" it's still full of the remains of buildings, and huge drop-offs looking down into the waterway where parking lots were washed away after Hurricane Helene.

A remaining ruin was here one day (months after the storm), and then...

Just an empty lot!

While next door the wreck of the warehouse still stands.

But the bridge connecting Old 70 and US 70is now open, and well used again to get to the many homes up around Old 70. My friend, Judy, lives in that area, and has been driving circuitous routes to get places for 5 months!

A red trailer rescued from the river, was pulled onto the bridge perhaps to use for storage while workers were repairing it. 

Below shows the bridge has been repaired and is now in operation (we went over it) March 1, 2025

 (Incidentally, the red overhand of roof on the far upper left belongs to one of the ruined buildings still hanging over the river .)

There was a ribbon cutting ceremony for the opening of the repaired bridge on Wed. Feb. 27!

Much of the debris has been hauled away...though larger objects and buildings still show the damage a flood of water did to this little town. As I was in a passenger seat driving along on last Thursday, I just clicked away at what we drove by...

A favorite vet practice now gone.

Ditches dug deeper to remove further runoff problems from any new rains!

Taken on Feb 28, 2025. The newer looking small structures might have been donated sheds, some of which were used for shelters by owners of the property during the winter months (almost over now.) FEMA provided motel rooms for many of us who were displaced by the storm, but the vouchers are due to be ended this month, though they've been extended several times already. People just didn't have any place to return to in many cases.

We live in the next town up the Swannanoa Valley, in Black Mountain...and support all the local businesses we can, and my friend's car says what we feel.

------------------

And for more upbeat sharing, 

Not my photo, but snowdrops! We didn't get that much snow (as of now anyway)

And since we just looked at a real neighborhood, here's Mr.Rogers' neighborhood - the actual sets used in the many programs my children watched!

----------------------

Today's quote:

From everything that man erects and builds in his urge for living, nothing in my eyes is better and more valuable than bridges. They are more important than houses, more sacred than shrines. Belonging to everyone and being equal to everyone, useful, always built with a sense, on the spot where most human needs are crossing, they are more durable than other buildings and they do not serve for anything secret or bad. -Ivo Andric, novelist, Nobel laureate (1892-1975)

-------------

Today's art:

Van Gogh, The Gleize Bridge over the Vigueirat Canal

--------------------------

Open Yesterday's Pages, featured yesterday Learning their ABC's thanks to Swannanoa Valley History Museum

__________________

My family album sharing:

Daughter-in-law, Michelle and middle son, Russ 2025