Ka-chunk, ka-chunk … Ka-chunk, ka-chunk….

For over a century the sound of wheels on wood have greeted residents of and visitors to the Lake Junaluska Assembly alike as cars, trucks, people and pets cross the bridge over the Lake Junaluska Dam.

The fruits of a yearlong bridge project will make it easier for residents of Moses Creek Road east of Cullowhee to get heavy items like dump trucks and construction materials into their neighborhood.

Building a footbridge over the Tuckasegee River will likely wind up costing more than twice the $641,000 it was originally supposed to, Jackson County Commissioners learned when bids for the project came in this summer.

The bridge carrying eastbound Main Street traffic across the Little Tennessee River in Franklin will be close to 90 years old by the time its newly planned replacement is up and running at the end of 2017. The N.C. Department of Transportation will take care of costs for the $2.1-million project — almost.