Merrimon Avenue Pedestrian Bridge Demolition Paused After Community Outcry

A demolition crew never arrived Tuesday night. The North Carolina Department of Transportation had scheduled an overnight closure of Merrimon Avenue near Reems Creek Road in Weaverville for March 10 to remove an overhead pedestrian bridge, but significant community pushback stopped the project before it began. NCDOT has since paused the removal and is now working with the property owners to determine who holds authority over the bridge's fate.

The structure at the center of the dispute is no ordinary overpass. According to the Dry Ridge Historical Museum, the bridge dates to 1909, when the Coleman family built it to cross what was then an active trolley corridor running between Weaverville and Asheville. The Coleman family owned land on both sides of Merrimon Avenue, and the bridge let them move between their properties without stepping onto the tracks below.

The Conrad family, which purchased the property from the Coleman family, now claims ownership and argues the bridge should be repaired rather than demolished. They claim they hold the bridge in perpetuity as part of that purchase. While they say they understand the safety concerns NCDOT has raised, they want repairs explored before the state moves forward with removal.

NCDOT maintains the bridge is unsafe. "Based on the most recent bridge inspection, as well as a couple other factors, NCDOT engineers determined the best course of action is to remove that structure," said David Uchiyama, communications officer for NCDOT. The bridge sustained damage during Hurricane Helene, though it was not enough to cause collapse. The agency has not publicly detailed what the inspection found or what the additional factors were that drove the removal recommendation.

The unresolved question now is who gets to decide. An NCDOT spokesperson said the department is working with the Conrad family to determine who ultimately has the authority to decide the bridge's future, an indication that the legal picture is not yet settled. No timeline for a resolution has been announced.