History at risk
Covered bridge closed to traffic after land slip
hoto by Janelle Patterson Joe Finley, 66, of Belpre, kicks off the northwestern bank of the Little Muskingum River below the closed Hune Covered Bridge in Lawrence Township Wednesday, across from a landslip which puts the historic structure at risk.
Photo by Janelle Patterson FLEDA Secretary Mike Webber stops to look over the now-closed Hune Covered Bridge in Lawrence Township Wednesday. The bridge will be a topic of discussion at FLEDA's community meeting next week.
hoto by Janelle Patterson Joe Finley, 66, of Belpre, kicks off the northwestern bank of the Little Muskingum River below the closed Hune Covered Bridge in Lawrence Township Wednesday, across from a landslip which puts the historic structure at risk.
Photo by Janelle Patterson FLEDA Secretary Mike Webber stops to look over the now-closed Hune Covered Bridge in Lawrence Township Wednesday. The bridge will be a topic of discussion at FLEDA's community meeting next week.
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LAWRENCE TWP. -- Built in 1878, one historic asset of the county is closed to traffic again.
A still-moving landslip on the southeastern bank of the Little Muskingum River quickly developed between Jan. 5 and 6, following wet weather in that first part of the year.
The slip as of Tuesday has begun to drop road asphalt from the Duff Road approach to the Hune Covered Bridge.
“We had to make the conservative determination pretty quickly because of the slip,” said Washington County Engineer Roger Wright. “But we are headed out (today) with the state expert on covered bridges to start looking at both short- and long-term options there.”
On Jan. 7, the Hune Covered Bridge was closed to all vehicular traffic, with metal barricades adhered to each approach blocking passage, leaving only one historic covered bridge in the county still receiving traffic--the Bell Covered Bridge in Barlow.
“My ultimate goal is to not only preserve them but get them off of the traffic system,” said Wright. “Plans are already underway to bypass the Bell bridge with federal funding in fiscal year 2022.”
Last year, Wright approached the Frontier Local Economic Development Association to begin planning for the retirement of Hune from vehicular traffic.
“But when we talked, it was opening that discussion for action maybe in five to 10 years,” he explained. “Now that may be expedited. We don’t have a timeline or cost estimates yet, but we need to talk.”
FLEDA Secretary Mike Webber visited the bridge Wednesday, admiring the sandstone piers but sharing the concerns of a quick loss of ground at the Duff Road approach to the bridge on the southeastern side of the Little Muskingum River.
The covered bridge is one of the crossings available to Lawrence Township property owners over the Little Muskingum River, and saw its last significant repairs in 2007.
Upriver there’s Scottown Road, while downriver the next nearest crossing is at Elk Run Road.
“It was FLEDA, back around 2003 that drove saving the Rinard Covered Bridge, preserving the landmark but getting traffic off of it, and I think we’d like to do that again with this,” said Webber. “But where to put it and how to preserve access to the campgrounds with the Wayne National Forest also needs to be discussed.”
For property owners on the eastern side of the river, the closure ranges from slightly inconvenient to worrisome.
“I last traveled up there on Jan. 4 and 5 since it’s our most convenient route to the cabin and barn my family has on about 45 acres there,” said Beau Cross, a locally practicing attorney. “But it’s a recreational spot for us, so the closure means an extra 10 minutes of travel, but I’d rather that than end up in the river with a collapsed bridge.”
But for the Kiggins family, emergency response and inclement weather are of great concern.
“We take care of my husband’s mother, I’m not in particularly great health--10 minutes is more than just slightly inconvenient,” said Christina Kiggins, 52, who lives on the eastern side of the bridge, on Duff Road with her husband Randy.
She said flooding, snow and taking back roads up steep hills could effectively landlock the couple this winter.
“I’ve watched and taken video of the land shifting though. I understand but I just don’t want this to be a reason we’re forgotten in road maintenance from the township,” she said.
Kiggins said she plans to attend the FLEDA meeting Tuesday, as did Wright.
“It is a gravity pier, and if the stones start to loosen, we could lose the whole structure,” said Wright. “So I’ll be looking at what we can do to shore up that bank, but won’t have a timeline yet. But I’ll try to be there at the FLEDA meeting to answer what questions I can.”
Wright said he’ll be researching potential tourism and emergency funding to secure the bridge.
FLEDA, Webber said, meets about six times a year.
Its next meeting is open to the public on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Newport Elementary.
Janelle Patterson can be reached at jpatterson@mariettatimes.com.
If you go:
• The Frontier Local Economic Development Association will meet Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Newport Elementary.
• The public is encouraged to attend to discuss the Hune Covered Bridge and hear district updates from township officials, county officials and local businesses.
Source: Mike Webber, secretary of FLEDA.