Wait-and-see approach for damaged bridge
Staff writer
A lot of bridges and roads in Marion County need repairing or replacing, but the condition of a bridge has caught the attention of Durham residents.
Doug Kjellin, administrative controller in the county’s road and brdige department, briefed county commissioners about bridges and roads a few weeks ago.
The south apron of a bridge near Cottonwood Grove Christian School and Wiebe Dairy was washed out, and wood debris is lying against the bridge.
Kjellin does not know when repairs can be completed.
The year Cottonwood Grove Christian School opened in 1984-’85, water was over the bridge nine times. Residents have wondered whether the bridge is adequate to handle flood waters.
Not much can be done rebuilding the bridge, Kjellin said.
“We had exceptionally high rains, and the bridge is 90 years old,” he said.
Recent rains caused trees and other debris to wash down the North Cottonwood River, blocking it and washing out the bridge, commissioner Clarke Dirks said.
Whether the bridge needs to be removed is not known.
“We need to get it cleaned up for an engineer to look at it to see what our options are,” Dirks said.
Like Kjellin, Dirks hopes the bridge can be saved
“We don’t have the money right now to replace it,” he said.
Initial reports indicate the bridge may be salvageable, Dirks said,
He contends that residents’ concerns that they could be blocked from coming and going are not true.
While access to one road is closed, people can come from the north, which adds just a few miles to the original route.
“It’s an inconvenience for these people, but they can get in and out,” Dirks said.
The bridge was inspected in 2024 and was rated as fair.