COLUMBIANA CO. Fix of last covered bridge is on hold

Restoration is on hold while other projects are in progress.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
ELKTON -- When it comes to Columbiana County's covered bridges, one is the loneliest number.
That's how many of the county's five historic spans remain to be renovated after the recently completed $16,000 restoration of the Church Hill Road Covered Bridge along state Route 154 in Elkrun Township.
Work began this summer on the 19-foot-long 1870 bridge, which is said to be the shortest such structure in the country.
Money from the county's road and bridge fund paid for the undertaking.
About a year ago, work was concluded on the $295,000 job to reclaim the Teegarden Centennial Covered Bridge along Eagleton Road in Salem Township.
The effort was paid for with county, state and federal funds.
With those projects completed, the only covered bridge in the county now needing to be rebuilt is the McClellan Covered Bridge along Trinity Church Road in Center Township.
Straddling the West Fork of Little Beaver Creek near a secluded meadow, the McClellan Bridge is a likely candidate for renewal.
The nearly 50-foot-long bridge, open only to foot traffic, was built in 1871 and is sagging and missing planks.
Third on list
Don't expect a recovery effort to occur any time soon, however, said county Engineer Bert Dawson, who has led the restoration of the Church Hill and Teegarden bridges.
Dawson said he plans to restore the McClellan Bridge eventually.
First, however, he is concentrating on two other projects.
Dawson's office is applying for a $300,000 state-administered federal grant to fund restoration of an abandoned county-owned train depot on South Market Street in Lisbon.
The two-story brick building was constructed in 1886 and served for a time as a depot for the Pittsburgh, Marian and Chicago Railroad.
Now run-down, the building isn't being used.
Dawson wants to restore it as office space and to provide restrooms for the nearby Greenway Trail, a hike-bike pathway stretching between Lisbon and Leetonia on a one-time Civil War-era railroad bed.
Teegarden bridge project
The grant being sought would likely cover the cost of restoring the building.
Dawson also is applying for $89,000 in a state-administered federal grant to pay for installing a parking lot and stone wall near the Teegarden Centennial Covered Bridge.
The paved lot would replace a muddy, rutted space now used for parking by visitors to the bridge and the Greenway Trail. The pathway's midpoint is about 200 yards from the bridge.
Installing a paved lot would improve access to the two attractions, situated in a picturesque forest glen, Dawson has argued.
Old bridge abutment stones the county has would be used to fashion a nearly 3-foot-high wall around the lot.
The wall would add to the spot's scenic value and prevent people from driving vehicles into an adjacent area where off-road travel is prohibited.