The demolition starts this week of a garden bridge that was devastated by a hurricane in the southeastern United States.
The Lake Lure Flowering Bridge’s second life as a tourist attraction came to an abrupt end in September 2024 when Hurricane Helene swept through the state of North Carolina. As well as spreading debris through the town and silting up the lake, floods washed away one end of the three-arch structure and the gardens on its deck.
The bridge was built in 1925, and was decommissioned in 2011 when it was replaced by a modern structure. A group of volunteers got permission from the North Carolina Department of Transportation to develop the bridge into a garden, which opened to the public in 2013.
The Lake Lure Flowering Bridge’s 47m span was supplemented by plots on either side, and the park eventually accommodated an acre of planting in 30 themed gardens. It attracted more than 150,000 visitors a year, and was recognised as a wildlife habitat. An adjacent education centre survived the storm, and the volunteers plan to continue creating gardens on the site.
The town of Lake Lure awarded the contract for removing the bridge to Mitch Contracting.
