After Hurricane Helene, Appalachia won’t be back to normal for a while. Important roads are still closed, so drivers have to find other ways to get around the wreckage. It’s harder to get things done every day, both for people going to work and for truck drivers trying to move goods across the area. But people in Northeastern Tennessee and volunteers have come up with a great way to fix one of the many bridges that have fallen: they will build a new one out of huge trailers.
Aaron Rigsby, a storm chaser, quickly shot some video of the temporary infrastructure with a drone and put it on his YouTube account. In the video, there are three flatbed trailers lined up parallel to the stream. On top of them is what looks like a row of two-wide trailer decks that connect two dirt paths. It probably wouldn’t be a good idea to drive a big rig across, but the pickup truck in the video looks like it would be fine.
It’s been too hard for me to figure out how the trucks got there, but I think a crane put them there. The water is still high and moving quickly, so I don’t think semi-trucks put them there. There have been several posts on social media showing locals with heavy equipment fixing roads before the state DOT could. Either way, it’s one of the smartest fixes I’ve seen.
This big MacGyver repair is happening near the Tennessee town of Poga, which is just west of the border with North Carolina. It’s very country and far away, like many other stories we’ve seen on the national news since the terrible storm. Even though this isn’t a freeway or even a two-lane highway, people still need to get from one town to the next, so roads like these are very important. People who live in the area still need goods, like food, building materials, and other things. When there is only one way to get in and out of town, you do everything you can to keep it open. This is what these people are doing, and it doesn’t look like the state or federal government is directing them.
Meanwhile, parts of Interstate 40 that run east to west across Tennessee are still closed, which is annoying for truck drivers. Some have tried longer paths that go through small towns, but they get stuck and can’t get out quickly. Others have been caught going around the rules by going through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which doesn’t let 18-wheelers through.
It’s tough outside, and it probably will stay that way for a while. Folks in these kinds of places will find a way to make it happen if they are not stopped.
Source: Tennessee Locals Rebuilt Bridge With Semi Trailers Instead of Waiting for Help
