Monday, May 28, 2007
NEWTON FALLS — With construction resuming on a historic site here, City Manager Jack Haney plans to visually document the changes to the covered bridge.
The construction zone had been idle since August, when a dispute between BECDIR Construction Co. of Berlin Center and Trumbull County halted operations. The Righter Co. of Columbus started working on the project two weeks ago.
“It’s a true piece of history that we still use today, and we have this tremendous opportunity to document the changes,” Haney said recently.
Haney said photographs of the work will be posted on the city’s Web site, www.ci.newtonfalls.oh.us/, every few weeks. He said he thinks that it’s vital that the “youth of the community” know just how important the construction is.
According to Mike Killilea II, project manager for Righter, the bridge project has a targeted completion date of Dec. 31.
Current work on the bridge includes the replacement of abutments and piers. Later in the year, the floor, sides and roof of the bridge will be replaced.
Built in 1831, the bridge is the second oldest covered bridge in the state, the only one in Ohio with a covered crosswalk, and the last covered bridge in the county. The last significant work to the bridge was completed in 1985.