Public bridge meeting set
In just about two years from now, the 83-year-old bridge that spans the Black River at Greenwood will be torn out and replaced, severing the main road connection to the west. Anyone with an interest in how that project will affect them can learn more at a public involvement meeting to be held on May 18 from 6-7 p.m. at the Clark Electric Cooperative office’s community room.
The last remaining overhead truss bridge in Clark County will be replaced in the summer of 2023, with schedule details still to be determined. The project has a cost estimate of $2.8 million, with state funding to cover 80 percent and Clark County responsible for the other 20 percent. The new bridge will be wider and longer, and will be constructed of concrete with no overhead steel structure.
The obvious main impact of the project will be a several-month closure of Clark County Road G that connects the city of Greenwood to the west. Because the entire structure will be removed and an entirely new structure put in its place, there will be no partial access across it during the project. The official detour will likely take traffic to County Road OO to the south, said Clark County Highway Commissioner Brian Duell. The closest paved crossing to the north will be on County Road N west of Longwood.
Duell said it’s too early in the planning stages to know exactly when in 2023 the old bridge will be closed to traffic, nor exactly how long County G will be closed. The project is a major one, he said, as new abutments will be placed to support the new span. The new bridge being planned now by engineers will be about 40 feet longer than the current length of 286 feet. It will also be wider, with the total width yet to be determined. That aspect will be affected by Clark County’s success in obtaining a grant to add width to the bridge to accommodate snowmobile and ATV/UTV traffic. The county snowmobile trail system’s official crossing point is the bridge (or the Black River when it’s frozen) and the county is seeking state trail funding to add a lane to allow recreational vehicles to safely cross. Duell said anyone with interest in that aspect of the bridge design can learn more at the May 18 meeting.
The County G bridge was put in place in 1938. A 1988 project installed a new concrete deck, but now Duell said the structure’s steel is showing signs of significant rust and other deterioration. The bridge also presents an issue for truck and farm machinery traffic due to its 13’6” overhead structure height. The end trusses of the bridge have been struck multiple times by trucks and machinery.
Clark Electric Cooperative’s office is located at 1209 W. Dallberg Rd., just west of the bridge.
