County removing two historic bridges, repurposing one
Courtesy of Washington County Planning Commission
The Wheeling No. 8 bridge in West Finley Township, also known as the Potter Bridge, is shown as it appeared in 2009. The historically significant bridge, built in 1881, will be moved to a walking and biking trail in Cross Creek County Park.
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
The Hodgens Bridge at Walker Hill Road near Taylorstown
Washington County is seeking bids to replace the Potter Bridge, a historic structure that was closed to West Finley Township traffic in 2010, and the Hodgens Bridge in Blaine Township, which will remain open until it goes to the scrap heap.
The county commissioners on Wednesday authorized advertisement for construction bids for two new spans.
In December, the Potter Bridge was removed from its moorings east of Beham and south of Claysville, and it’s in the process of being rehabilitated for use as part of a trail in Cross Creek County Park.
“We’re just waiting on the permits from DEP,” said Lisa Cessna, executive director of the Washington County Planning Commission, which oversees both parks and bridges.
Removing, rehabilitating and relocating the Potter Bridge, built in 1881, will cost less than $50,000.
The price tag to do the same with the Hodgens Bridge near Taylorstown, built in 1889, would be more than 14 times the cost.
“We couldn’t justify it,” Cessna said Friday.
The Hodgens Bridge over Buffalo Creek at Walker Hill Road is much larger than Potter, and because of its poor condition, much of the structure, if repaired, would not be original, Cessna said.
It had a three-ton weight limit in May of last year, when the county advertised the Hodgens Bridge on the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation website.
The county reached an agreement with the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission that the Hodgens Bridge can be demolished because no one stepped forward by Aug. 15 to purchase it.
Cessna does not expect demolition to occur before summer.