Video Shows Arches Collapse On Hickory Walking Bridge

HICKORY, NC – New video shows the moments recently placed arches above a Hickory overpass came crashing down.

“I was like, oh my god,” said Anna Geitner.

She regularly walks her dog along the Hickory City walk.

“It’s a little disconcerting. The waste of money. The waste of time. And now it’s closed and you can’t go across,” said Geitner.

She says she was incredibly disappointed when the arches came down.

Video from some nearby businesses shows the arches collapse during a storm last week.

According to a police report. A car crashed into debris from the arches shortly after they fell. The driver didn’t have time to react. They weren’t hurt.

“We were grateful that nobody was injured,” said Hickory Mayor Hank Guess.

He says the collapse caught them by surprise.

“I had no indication whatsoever. I was as surprised and saddened as everyone else was,” said Guess.

He says engineers, and architects were on site Tuesday to assess the debris. They have insurance and a warranty on the arches.

“There is no financial loss to the citizens whatsoever,” said Guess.

“I can’t imagine that we will put those arches back in any form or fashion as they were. That was a one of a kind structure that was built specially for us,” explained Guess.

Geitner says the solution for what to put there next may be just a couple blocks away, on a smaller bridge.

“They’ve got iron works mixed with the stone. And that looks fine. They ought to just do that in a bigger version. It would be simple. It would look good. And that would be the end of it,” said Geitner.

Mayor Guess says the bridge itself is structurally fine. It’s unclear how long the road will be closed while the arches are cleaned up.