‘Hallelujah!’ State Route 67 (Broad Street) bridge officially reopens in Elizabethton
Published 7:08 pm Wednesday, July 2, 2025
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By Lynn J. Richardson
An enthusiastic group of state and local officials, as well as a number of community members, gathered on Wednesday at the Broad Street Bridge (State Route 67) for a long-awaited ribbon cutting to officially reopen the bridge after a nine-month closure following damage sustained during Hurricane Helene on Sept. 27, 2024.
Speakers for the event included House District 4 Rep. Renea Jones; Elizabethton City Mayor Bill Carter; Deputy Governor and Commissioner of Transportation Butch Eley; State Sen. Rusty Crowe, District 3; Tennessee Sen. Becky Massey, District 6 and chair of the Tennessee Transportation and Safety Committee; Carter County Mayor Patty Woodby; and TDOT Director and Assistant Chief Engineer for Region 1 Steve Bordon.
Elizabethton Mayor Bill Carter told the group he knows that “we have a community of believers here in Elizabethton because every time someone said they heard the bridge was going to reopen, they would say, ‘Hallelujah!’”
He then explained a bit of the history of the 1929 bridge and noted the amount of traffic that would normally cross it when open — an average of 27,455 vehicles daily.
The impact of having all that additional traffic rerouted through downtown onto East Elk Avenue has been very difficult, he said.
“So, this is a very, very big day for our community. And now that that day is actually here, I have only one thing to say.”
And with that, Carter stepped closer to the microphone and yelled, “Hallelujah!”
Deputy Governor and Commissioner of Transportation Butch Eley described Sept. 27, 2024, as “a day we will never forget.”
“It was a day I cried with the mayors, the senator and others. It is a day I’ll never forget. We had 84 times the normal amount of water underneath this bridge at the peak of the flood.”
Eley praised the Tennessee Department of Transportation and the Tennessee Legislature.
“TDOT does what TDOT does — we responded, not leaving until the job was done,” he said.
“This would not have been possible without the Transportation Modernization Act that our Legislature passed. It put our department in a position to respond. We had 49 roadways shut down, and today we are standing on the 47th of those to reopen.
“We know how important this bridge is to the community,” he added. “It’s more than bricks and mortar and concrete. It’s about connectivity and quality of life.”
Eley also praised and introduced the man who will be his successor when he steps away from the job he has held for seven years — Will Reid, who is currently the chief engineer for TDOT.
Carter County Mayor Patty Woodby expressed her gratitude to God that no lives were lost during the flood and added her thanks to all who had worked so hard to repair the bridge.
Calling the bridge a “symbol of connectivity,” she said, “Storms will come and storms will go, but our strength and our endurance will carry us through.”
Woodby also recognized Steve Bordon, TDOT director and assistant chief engineer for Region 1, with a plaque and a mayoral proclamation honoring his more than 30 years of service and his leadership during Hurricane Helene.
State Rep. Renea Jones also added her thanks, especially to Mayor Patty Woodby and Mayor Bill Carter for their “leadership during chaos,” and to the residents of Elizabethton and Carter County for their patience, understanding and cooperation.
“So now it’s ‘Goodbye’ to long detours and ‘Goodbye’ to headaches,” she said. “Now let that traffic flow!”
