MARION – State Transportation Secretary Daniel Johnson joined other state and local officials Friday morning to celebrate the completion of a major Helene-related bridge replacement project in western North Carolina.
Hurricane Helene devastated areas of McDowell County with rain and massive flooding. The damage included destruction of a bridge on Pitts Station Road over the North Fork Catawba River. The bridge served a neighborhood and vehicles coming and going from Baxter Healthcare, the nation’s largest producer of IV fluid and the largest private employer in McDowell County.
A new bridge — bigger, stronger and more resilient — now stands in its place.
“Our No. 1 priority over the past year at NCDOT has been to restore transportation and help folks in western North Carolina recover from the most destructive storm in North Carolina history,” Johnson said. “We are reconnecting McDowell county’s largest private employer with a crucial public highway, and we are reconnecting that highway to a neighborhood with families.”
Division 13 Engineer Tim Anderson, who oversees highway operations in a seven-county area including McDowell County, emceed the small event on Friday. McDowell County Chamber of Commerce president Kim Effler delivered remarks.
“This bridge is more than concrete and steel,” she said. “It’s how thousands of people get to work each day to support their families and keep local economies moving.”
Baxter Healthcare Site Director Dante Besseghini followed with praise for NCDOT, and the greater McDowell County community.
“Hurricane Helene tested the strength and resilience of our team and our community, but working together we were able to recover and emerge stronger than ever," said Besseghini. “This new, permanent bridge is a vital connection to our operations and supports our ability to deliver life-sustaining products to patients across the country. We’re deeply grateful to our dedicated Baxter colleagues and the many local partners, especially the North Carolina Department of Transportation, for helping us continue our mission to save and sustain lives.”
While this is the first Helene-related express design-build bridge replacement to be completed, Pitts Station Road, like many other locations in the region, has been functioning with a temporary bridge in place. Just 10 days after the storm, the Florida Department of Transportation delivered a modular bridge and informed NCDOT crews on how to assemble the metal structure. The temporary bridge opened just 21 working days later.
Last winter, engineers drew up blueprints for the new bridge. It is bigger, wider and stronger than the previous structure. It is more resilient, built to modern standards with a stronger base and a lower likelihood of debris catching on piers.
NCDOT must replace 82 bridges across the agency’s Highway Division 13, which covers Asheville and the surrounding area. In a typical year, crews and contractors replace nine or 10 bridges. Replacement work is underway for all 82 bridges with engineers drawing blueprints, or contractors working on the job sites.
“What we’ve achieved in restoring our state-maintained system of roads over the past year is nothing short of amazing,” said Johnson on Friday, standing on the bridge that will carry traffic next week. “We wouldn’t be here today, just over one year later, without our contractors, dedicated staff, support of our families, and neighbors like Baxter Healthcare.”