Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 20, 1993 TAG: 9301200156
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BONNIE V. WINSTON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
PEMBROKE BRIDGE REPLACEMENT PLANS NOW CAN BEGIN
RESIDENTS WILL GET a new bridge upstream while the state takes over the effort to preserve the old span.
With the stroke of a pen, preservationist and practical forces converged Tuesday to finally open the way to replace a 75-year-old, single-lane bridge that carries Virginia 623 across the New River near Pembroke.
Stressed by age, the quarter-mile, steel-truss bridge has been dubbed a historic landmark by preservationists in Giles County; it had been a safety hazard and nuisance to many motorists, however.
Before a concrete reinforcing collar was placed almost two years ago around the middle strut at the water line, schoolchildren had to get off their buses at one end of the span, cross on foot and reboard at the other end to continue their journey to or from school.
Because the eight-ton weight limit still keeps other heavy loads off the bridge, fire trucks from Pearisburg have to take a 40- to 60-minute detour to answer calls for the 50 families who live on the other side.
Larry "Jay" Williams, who represents the Pembroke area on the county Board of Supervisors, said Tuesday that a couple of houses have burned down waiting for the trucks to come.
But while plans for a replacement bridge rose to the top of the state Transportation Department's project list, the work was put on hold indefinitely until highway department officials and the state Department of Historic Resources could agree about what to do with the old structure.
Area preservationists wanted it saved - it is one of 20 steel-truss bridges in Virginia targeted for saving by the historic resources office - despite the overwhelming sentiment of locals who preferred to see it torn down and a modern, two-lane span put in its place.
County officials also wanted it to go after state highway officials determined repairs would be more expensive than a new bridge.
"For two years, the county has tried to expend state money for a new bridge," said County Administrator Ken Weaver.
But the efforts of a handful of preservationists, compounded by a lack of communication between the two state agencies, "threw a monkey-wrench in the gears," said George Hedrick, the supervisors' vice chairman.
Tuesday, under the watchful and gleaming eyes of Williams, Weaver and Hedrick, state officials finally signed an agreement under which the state historic resources department will take ownership of the span if it finds suitable "partners in management," said Hugh Miller, the department's director.
"We are not property managers."
The bridge is the first that the department has even considered taking over. It may be used for pedestrian traffic or recreational use, Miller said.
The agreement provides that if the preservation cannot be worked out, the bridge will be demolished.
Jack Hodge, chief engineer for the state highway department, said engineering and design work can begin immediately for a replacement bridge that will be constructed about 50 feet upstream. That should take nine months, Hodge said. Another year to 18 months later, the new bridge should be open to two lanes of traffic, including busloads of schoolchildren and fire trucks.
"We are so relieved," Hedrick said. "It's a milestone."