Bridge Watchers Nightmare
or
How a truck Blasted Through the Rockingham Bridges

 

December 30, 2008 - Well I blew my recent assignment as a Bridge Watcher. Within a week of my new assignment, two of my three bridges were damaged by an unidentified vehicle.

First was the Bartonsville Bridge:
In recent correspondence with Everett Hammond the Public Works Director for Rockingham Township I got the following bad news: "...we have some immediate repairs that we will be making to the Lower Bartonsville Covered Bridge that was damaged on or about December 24th. It appears as though some type of truck broke approximately five roof support members and pulled out approximately five. I have checked with the neighbors, however no one has seen any trucks travel through the bridge. I will be nailing the loose ones back in this afternoon. We will have a mill cut replacements for the broken ones."

Second was the Worrall bridge:
While traveling to the Bartonsville bridge to check on the damage I decided to travel to the Worrall Bridge to see if the same truck had visited that bridge. Unfortunately it had and left similar but not as extensive damage.

Dare I go look at the third bridge? In the meantime, neighbors to the bridge are being asked about possible truck traffic that might have damaged the bridges. The concern is that the truck passed both ways through both bridges at least once.

Yours in bridging,
Ray Hitchcock,
VCBS Rockingham Bridgewatch

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