NORTHEAST TENNESSEE (WJHL) — Mark Nagi has seen a great deal of storm damage to roads and bridges in 13 years with the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT), but nothing could have prepared him or the department for the Hurricane Helene’s havoc.
“I’ve been saying for the past few days that this is a generational storm, something that people have not ever seen in this area,” Nagi told News Channel 11 Tuesday. “But I don’t think that terminology even really does this justice, and honestly, I don’t think that pictures and video do it justice.”
Residents take it upon selves to help reopen bridge
That’s evident throughout the region, including along the Nolichucky River from the point it blasted out of the gorge upstream of Erwin to southwest Greene County, many miles downstream. The river became an irresistible force, with a number of bridges proving to be less-than-immovable objects.
“We had five bridges that were destroyed,” Nagi said of the TDOT-owned toll regionwide. “We have 14 more that were damaged across the region. That’s not even counting what any local, county or city-owned bridges could end up being.”
Friday morning, a total of 17 bridges spanned the Nolichucky over that stretch from just south of Erwin to southwest of Greeneville. Less than 24 hours later, six of them were completely destroyed and only a handful were passable…