Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, May 13, 1993                   TAG: 9305130124
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV1   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: KEVIN KITTREDGE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PEMBROKE                                LENGTH: Medium

OLD BRIDGE COULD BE SAVED IN PIECES

Randi Lemmon said Wednesday if efforts continue to focus on keeping the fragile bridge where it is, it probably will be destroyed. "What we're doing right now is putting all our eggs in one very iffy basket," Lemmon said of the current preservation effort.

He said if no one comes forward to assume responsibility for the bridge before a new one is built in 1995, it will simply be demolished. So far, the state can't give it away.

Lemmon is on a Historic Resources advisory committee and is land-trust director of the National Committee for the New River - a group seeking planned development on the New.

He said the Pembroke Bridge, broken into smaller, sturdier segments, still would be an attractive addition to other area projects. Possible sites, Lemmon said, could include Montgomery County's Huckleberry Trail and the New River Trail State Park.

The decision on whether to keep the old bridge where it is lies with Historic Resources, said state Transportation Department Resident Engineer Dan Brugh in Christiansburg. "Historic Resources people have the first shot," he said.

That agency has agreed to be responsible for the bridge if someone else will finance and manage it.

Lemmon said he does not believe that will happen - though he would be thrilled if it did. Attempts to contact Historic Resources officials familiar with the bridge were not successful.

Lemmon - who had favored keeping the 75-year-old steel span where it is as a hiking and bicycle route - said he became convinced the bridge's best chance for survival was in fragments after talking with Brugh this week.

The problem, Lemmon said, is that the center pier of the quarter-mile bridge must be replaced even for pedestrian use. That and other repairs would make the cost of renovating the old bridge several hundred thousand dollars, he said.

The highway department already has plans to build a new bridge just upstream.

Meanwhile, Lemmon said, the highway department has agreed to try to incorporate some attractive features into its new bridge. Instead of standard concrete sides, for example, the bridge could include railings that allow a view of the river and surrounding mountains, he said.

"It's a beautiful site," Lemmon said. "We're excited about the prospect of working with the new bridge."

Lemmon also is hoping the area around the old bridge can be turned into a small park with a boat dock.

"There's really very little public access to the New River in Giles County," he said.