For nearly two years, a group of Henderson County families has struggled to get home. Twelve families living along Jane Way Drive lost their only connection to the main road when Helene washed away their bridge.

The storm left behind more than just debris. It cut residents off from their community and forced them to find their own way across the river.

Resident Jerry Flockner remembers seeing the damage for the first time.

“There is no bridge,” Flockner said. “The whole bridge was washed away. We found pieces of it a mile down the river.”
Flockner said he was trapped for six days after the storm.

“What I did was, I took my wife across in my skid steer to get across the river,” Flockner said.

For the next year and a half, residents relied on a makeshift bridge they built themselves, knowing every trip across came with risks.

Now, nearly two years after Helene, those families finally have a safe and permanent way home. Samaritan’s Purse, a Christian humanitarian organization, covered the roughly $80,000 cost of replacing the bridge through an approved grant program.

The new structure is designed to be stronger and better equipped to withstand stormwater and erosion, according to Chandler Sims with Samaritan’s Purse

“This is what we call a rail car bridge,” Sims said. “It’s much better than what they had. We have big Class 7 boulders protecting, and this bridge design will help with stormwater erosion.”

The community celebrated the new bridge with a breakfast and block party, bringing neighbors together after years of dealing with the aftermath of Helene.

For Flockner, the celebration was about much more than construction.

“It’s been a long time,” Flockner said. “It’s great to see everyone together celebrating what the Lord has done.”

Linda Nelson, who lives in Florida but spends her summers at her home in the community, said the disaster brought the neighbors closer together.

“This is an amazing community,” Nelson said. “This community sticks together. It’s one huge family.”
Nelson said she has never seen a community come together the way this one did after Helene.

Samaritan’s Purse said its work in western North Carolina is far from over. The organization currently has about 1,000 approved recovery projects across the region, ranging from driveway repairs to bridge replacements. It is also accepting applications from homeowners who need help with storm-related repairs.

 

STORY COURTESY OF ABC 13 WLOS.