Helene flooding: Volunteers reopen bridge to help stranded neighbors

SOUTH WASHINGTON COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) — The dependable of chainsaws filled the aerial arsenic volunteers — unsolicited and "unauthorized" — removed detritus from the platform of Jackson Bridge successful Tennessee connected Saturday morning.

They were men and women from southbound of the Nolichucky River, and their neighbors for miles were stranded aft monolithic flooding from Hurricane Helene had wiped retired immoderate bridges and made others, including Jackson, impassable.

Volunteers drove tractors, skid steers, and different idiosyncratic instrumentality up and down Jackson Bridge Road for much than a half-mile down them.

“We’ve been present each greeting pushing mud, cutting trees and moving things out," adjacent nonmigratory Steven Beckett told NewsNation affiliate WJHL.

The volunteers knew radical successful communities stretching for miles from Embreeville and South Central successful Washington County were stranded down into Greene County. Many had nary powerfulness oregon water.

"The Kinser Bridge, besides known arsenic the 107 Bridge, has collapsed," Staci Crum, who, with her hubby and daughter, had driven eastbound from Greene County to the erstwhile Taylor Bridge crossing. "It's wholly gone. And past the different span for america to get out, we telephone it Massengill Bridge oregon Ernest Bridge; it's underwater and impassable arsenic well."

“Right now, we cognize nothing. We cognize we’re landlocked," Staci Crum said arsenic her hubby looked astatine the wide agelong of stream wherever Taylor Bridge had been pummeled into oblivion by the raging waters little than 18 hours earlier.

“I’m a diabetic, I’m debased connected pen needles," Tracy Penley, who lives adjacent Taylor Bridge, said. "That’s the biggest reason, to beryllium honorable with you, I’m adjacent out. I’ve got similar fractional a container left, which is astir a week’s worth.”

It was for radical similar Penley that Beckett and others were getting sweaty and soiled arsenic h2o continued to emergence astatine the edges of Jackson Bridge Road.

“The assemblage got unneurotic and decided we’re gonna wide the span due to the fact that we didn’t spot immoderate enactment existent early," Beckett said.

Later successful the morning, those unpaid teams spotted Washington County Highway Department workers crossed the river, moving to wide the roadworthy connected the different side.

"We’re each moving to conscionable successful the middle, if you will," Beckett said arsenic a Cat with a claw instrumentality grabbed a monolithic log, crawled to the borderline of the bridge, and dropped it into the h2o below.

The span was rebuilt respective years ago, Beckett said, and had to enactment debased to the h2o due to the fact that of a Native American burial crushed nearby.

"I judge a batch of the trees and things that were floating were floating supra the span and really saved it," Beckett said. "It's 1 of the ones that made it."

By 1:30, crews had the span platform wide and roads connected some sides, making it comparatively passable. Foot postulation and high-priority conveyance postulation were allowed. The assemblage effort didn’t flight Washington County Mayor Joe Grandy’s notice.

“I conscionable privation to accidental however impressed everyone has been with the enactment from the assemblage trying to assistance the radical that were stranded connected the different broadside of the Nolichucky River," Grandy said astatine a Sunday greeting quality conference.

He aboriginal told WJHL that different radical had cleared an adjacent longer agelong of Snapp Bridge Road from the river's southbound side. By mid-afternoon Sunday, two-way postulation was allowed connected some of the tiny bridges.

Fewer than a 3rd of the 13 bridges spanning the Nolichucky betwixt Taylor Bridge and Poplar Bridge southwest of Greeneville were passable arsenic of Sunday afternoon. Several had been wholly destroyed.