Videos show collapse of 40-ton wooden arches as storm, strong winds hit NC city
Newly released video shows 40-ton wooden arches collapsing along a pedestrian walkway in Hickory last week.
The arches collapsed onto the City Walk and Main Avenue Bridge as a storm system with high wind gusts passed through the Charlotte area early Friday.
City officials said they received three videos from nearby businesses to assist in the investigation of the collapse.
The fallen wood will be cleaned up once an investigation determines what contributed to the collapse, Hickory officials have said. The Main Avenue and Rudy Wright bridges remain closed until further notice, according to officials.
The recorded wind gusts at Hickory’s airport during the storm — 33 mph — don’t seem strong enough to have collapsed the arches, according to a National Weather Service meteorologist.
“That’s pretty typical for them to get there,” Robbie Munroe of the NWS office in Greer, S.C., told The Charlotte Observer on Friday. “That shouldn’t be enough to do that amount of damage.”
The arches were built to withstand 100 mph winds, Hickory Mayor Hank Guess told WSOC-TV on Monday. It could take take up to two weeks or more to clean up the debris, he said.
City Walk contractor Neill Grading & Construction and engineering firm John Wood Group PLC are assessing the damage of the collapse, officials said.
City Walk opened in December, but the project hasn’t been closed out with the contractor, officials said. A performance bond and warranty are in place to cover all aspects of the project, according to officials.
The project was funded through a bond referendum and cost about $750,000, according to the Associated Press. It made up about 5% of the $14.3 million City Walk contract.
