Bridge back home for Lyons resident finally finished
Recovery from the
But each step in the recovery process is nevertheless being hailed by those affected, and on Friday it was
Half a million dollars in grant money secured by the
A celebration of the bridge's completion was held Friday.
"I know it took a long time, and we actually signed the contract, I believe, in
"But I'm very grateful to have a very nice, sturdy bridge, and not be in debt for the rest of our lives," she said.
Sims has been back to her
For the most part, Sims has been living at a friend's home in the Devil's Thumb neighborhood of
"I'm going to miss my friend that I have been staying with, because now we're both going to be alone in the evenings, not able to share the TV and soap opera about (President Donald)
More than
The
A small additional amount was covered by Sims' family, who utilized an online fundraising tool to help pay for the repair. Sims' cardiologist was among the contributors to that effort.
"It's nice to be able to deliver some good news," said
Williams said the county's CDBG-DR money came in three rounds of funding that totaled
She explained that the process has carried on as long as it has because
Citing post-disaster relief efforts in locations such as
Once such situations were recognized as eligible by HUD, Williams said, it was still a separate process to persuade the federal government that the money should be delivered in the form of grants, rather than loans.
Williams said 29 different private access repair projects in the county have been funded through those funds, affecting 40 separate households. Of those, eight -- including the Sims property -- have now been completed, six are in easement negotiations and the rest are in the engineering phase of the process.
Blessing from catastrophe
Sims said during the time that she was displaced from her home, a man she didn't know from the nearby Pinewood subdivision had been watching the slow-motion replacement of her bridge on repeated drives past it and stopped by one day with two bottles of champagne.
That bubbly helped fuel Friday's festivities.
"I was calling it a christening, but, that's not right, because I don't want to break them. I just want to share it with all these people," Sims said.
She is looking forward to being home to stay this coming week, 3 1/2 years after the flood that ravaged
Sims is also happy about a return to the simpler benefits and pleasures of home.
"I'll be back in time to see the flowers and everything again, and do some yard work," Sims said.
Sims expressed her thanks to everyone in
"I told them it's like a lot of catastrophes that happen in life," she said. "There are blessings that come from it. These people have been so great. And I never would have known them, if not for this situation."
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