Residents of an isolated town in North Carolina have improvised a bridge using several flatbed trailers in order to keep themselves connected to the rest of the world.
Hurricane Helene decimated the western part of the state, flooding the area and destroying roads and buildings. Now, towns like Elk Park, North Carolina are working to fix what they can and keep themselves supplied while they await official repairs.
When the bridge serving as the only way in and out of Elk Park got washed away in the storm, residents were forced to come up with a temporary solution using several flatbed trailers to serve as a makeshift bridge, allowing them to use ATVs to carry supplies to and from town.
“There’s only one way in and one way out,” John Priestino, who has been making frequent supply runs since the flood waters receded, said to WCNC. “You ain’t getting no supply chain without a bridge.”
“Everybody has pulled together, and we’re getting our roads cleared, we’re getting there. Slowly but surely.”
“You can’t get a truck across the bridge we built, but you can get side by sides,” he continued. “So a bunch of side by sides, we’ve been getting together and running supplies back and forth.”
For now, the area is using the nearby Elk Park Community Center as a warehouse for supplies. Nearby residents say that they’ve all worked together to stock up on water and food, but they’re still looking to gather food and generators.
“They have people with no houses left, people that can’t get out of their houses, trees down, washouts, flooding, and we just felt that it was something we needed to do,” said Lavonia Georgia’s Police Chief, Shane Edmisten, who has been driving up to help with recovery efforts.
For now, the flatbed trailer bridge is the only thing connecting the mountain town to nearby communities.