Hickory wooden arches to be removed this weekend, city leaders say

Officials said N.C. 127 will be closed between First Avenue SE and First Avenue NE from Friday, March 4, at 6 p.m. through 6 a.m. Monday, March 7.

Detour routes will be established and clearly marked, according to reports.

Officials said drivers should use Fourth Street and the one-way pairs to navigate around the closure of N.C. 127.

By noon on Friday, activity had already began to shut down all four lanes of the highway. A Channel 9 crew could see some of the equipment in place along Main Avenue NE to begin removing the arches.

Hickory Mayor Hanke Guess told Channel 9′s Dave Faherty the city is not paying for the removal.

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“We have protection in place to ensure that the city recoups any costs stemming from the collapse of the arches,” he said.

Earlier this week, the city announced it would not be conducting an independent investigation into how this happened. The city maintains the project was never finished and Hickory never took ownership of the arches.

After the arches are cleared, Guess said NCDOT will inspect the Main Avenue and the pedestrian bridge to determine a timeline for reopening.

Officials said drivers are asked to follow all signs and flagmen. For the public’s safety, a construction perimeter will be established. The public is asked to stay behind all caution tape areas.

A man told Channel 9 he saw the Hickory City Walk arches fall right in front of him and seconds later, he was forced to hit them.

Audra Lynn Claypoole showed Faherty the wood still stuck in the bummer of her car after it struck the arch. Her friend, Robert, was driving it when he slammed into the fallen debris that night.

“I was coming up a hill, it was raining, the wipers were on, the wind was blowing, it was hard to see,” Robert said. “You couldn’t see the arches. There was not time to stop.”

Still, Robert said the city’s insurance won’t pay for the damages and they city told him they aren’t liable.

Police said the surveillance cameras show Robert striking the fallen arches nearly 6-minutes after they fell.

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Claypoole has been charged with providing false information to police. Investigators say she told them she was in the car at the time of the wreck, something she disputes and is ready to fight in court.

“Why do you think they’re doing it? So they don’t have to pay. So they don’t have to pay for my vehicle. Yes, I do.”

Days after the crash, Robert told Channel 9 he was heading home along Main Avenue when the arches fell. According to the police report, he didn’t have enough time to react and stop -- and he slammed into the arches.

“I couldn’t believe it was falling,” he said. “And it fell and I just hit it. I couldn’t get stopped. I couldn’t believe something that big and architect could fall but it did. I’m just glad I wasn’t under it to crush the car.”

He showed Channel 9 the damage the $750,000 arches did to the car.

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The arches had problems last spring, which was when the mayor said workers heard popping noises when they tried to raise the second arch.

The city said the splintering issue was “repaired with adhesive, clamps and self tapping screws.”

Dane Construction, a subcontractor on the project, told Faherty that Western Wood Structures completed the repair work and got it inspected and approved.

“At this point there are no indications that the repair contributed to the structural failure,” Dane Construction said.

Mayor Guess also told Channel 9 the arches were built to withstand 100-mile-per-hour winds. The driver said it was rainy and windy when the arches fell but he didn’t see very strong wind gusts.

(WATCH BELOW: Newly built ‘iconic’ arches collapse in downtown Hickory; road closed)