MEMPHIS, TN (abc24.com) - It was a rude awakening the morning of December 5, 2011 in the Big Bell neighborhood in Fayette County. A bridge in the back part of the neighborhood caved in as a result of heavy rain in the area. The bridge was the only way in or out for some 50 homes in the back of Big Bell neighborhood.
Kathy Wright, Big Bell resident, says, “I got up and wondered what was going on and that's when I found out. Then I saw that water and that was what was scary.”
Another man who lives in the neighborhood drove across the bridge moments before it collapsed around 4 a.m. that morning. Residents say the bridge had a weak foundation and there had been plans to work on making the bridge safer.
“They had started working on it and then they had a delay....and this is the result,” says Wright. “We knew it was going to happen sooner or later and I've lost over an acre of property in that culvert.”
The Fayette County Public Works department is currently working on building a temporary road in the area so that police, fire, and emergency officials are able to get to residents in the back of the neighborhood. There is no word from the Fayette County Mayor’s Office on when residents will have full access to the area.
