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Funds are sought to relocate bridge
By D.A. WILKINSON
LISBON
The Columbiana County Engineer already is at work on his next preservation project.
Bert Dawson said Monday that he will be applying to the Ohio Department of Transportation to try to get federal transportation-enhancement funds.
If approved, the funds would be used to pay up to 80 percent of the proposed cost of moving an abandoned arched bridge to provide a walkway over a ravine at the Columbiana County Fairgrounds.
The bridge would provide a straight walk from a northern parking lot to the center of the fair, he said.
Dawson has stored the abandoned arched bridge in parts at his offices for many years.
The bridge dates to 1860 and once was located at the southern end of South Market Street that crossed the Middle Fork of Little Beaver Creek.
Many years ago, ODOT decided to realign the road and built another bridge beside it. The abandoned bridge became a problem because kids would play on it. The wood floor was removed but that didn’t solve the problem, so he took it down.
Dawson said he wasn’t sure how much the project will cost. He said the federal funds are available every two years.
The engineer said that county money can’t be used, and he will have to find funds for the remaining 20 percent of the cost.
He estimated it would take about three years to complete the work.
Last month, he unveiled a renovated train station at a cost of $814,000 that is part of the Great Ohio Lake to River Greenway Bike Trail.
Fair officials couldn’t be reached for comment on the bridge plan.