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Goddard Bridge restoration plans unveiled at meeting
Tuesday, June 14, 2005 8:06 PM EDT
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| Steve Donovan with the Buffalo Trace Covered Bridge Authority points out details in the blue prints of the goddard Bridge restoration project to Frank McCartney during a public meeting Tuesday evening. Brian Hitch/Staff |
The project, which had earlier faced controversy, has been under public review for awhile and the project team met weekly to discuss concerns and concoct plans for the project. To help with the project, covered bridge experts David Fischetti, an engineer, and Arnold Graton reviewed the plans and made suggestions.
"In the past it was a controversial project (but) now it's turned into a public involvement project," said Phil Mauney, the construction branch manager for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. "(Fischetti's) expertise has been a great asset utilized by the community and the transportation department."
Mauney said that falsework lifting the bridge and allowing most of the work to be done on-site has already started, but many other aspects of the project will not commence until mid-July. This allows the community to have time to review the plans and make suggestions. Once the work begins, the project should take about eight months to complete.
"It's important that we do it right," said Rep. Mike Denham. "We need to preserve our history, and we need to go about it the right way so it will last for generations."
Stockton Wood, who is on the project team helping formulate plans, said that the covered bridges in Fleming County -- three in total -- are a "tangible piece of history." Wood's grandfather was the last person to work on the Goddard Bridge in 1968.
"The bridges in Fleming County have become symbols of the county," Wood said. "The Goddard Bridge in particular because of it's unique design in Kentucky."
Wood noted that more state and national experts have been involved in this project than any other covered bridge project in the country. The goals of the project are threefold. First, and most importantly, to make the bridge safe. Second, once the project is complete, to keep the bridge open to traffic. Third, to keep as much of the original wood and fabric of the bridge as possible.
Denham said that the project has been in the works since 1996. Original plans to tear the bridge down and reconstruct it off-site caused an outcry in the community leading to the re-establishment of the bridge authority. New legislature also made sure that the public and Heritage Council would be involved. Denham thought the meeting was an important aspect stemming from the legislature.
"This is the opportunity for people to express their opinion," he said.
The Goddard Bridge has been in place since the 1930s. Wood said that the best guess for original construction of the bridge would be sometime in the 1860s, though it could date back as far as the 1830s. Though the plans would allow for some visible changes to the bridge that would be necessary for safety, much of the original structure, including the roof, floor and latticework, will remain the same.
"It's amazing the amount of feeling people in Fleming County have for these bridges," Wood said. "And how strong the feeling is to protect them."
Contact Misty Maynard at misty.maynard@lee.net or call 564-9091, ext. 274.
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