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Crab Run bridge needs to find a new home
BY M.K. LUTHER • STAFF WRITER
MONTEREY - The Virginia Department of Transportation is conducting a marketing campaign to find a new owner and new home for the U.S. 250 Crab Run Bridge in McDowell.
Originally constructed in 1927, the bridge was deemed structurally deficient after a routine yearly inspection in September 2007, said Keith Weakley, VDOT district bridge engineer.
"Structurally deficient does not mean in anyway that failure is inevitable or the bridge is dangerous to use," Weakely said. "It is more or less a label - not by any means an alert."
The Crab Run Bridge, a concrete T-beam structure, received a rating of 4 on a scale of 0-9. When a bridge's rating drops from 5 to 4, it is slated for replacement.
"The condition will likely continue on present course," Weakley said. "The bridge will continue to be inspected every 12 months until it is replaced."
The marketing campaign is part of the Federal Historic Bridges Replacement Program. Under this program, VDOT must solicit for a new owner of a historic bridge to receive money for a replacement bridge.
The campaign is primarily aimed at adjacent towns and localities, said VDOT's regional program manager Bruce Penner.
The Crab Run Bridge itself is not considered a historic bridge, but is eligible for the program because of its close location to the McDowell Battlefield.
"There are hundreds of T-beams throughout the state, but this one is within the bounds of a historic district," Weakley said.
Often, VDOT will be able to move an old bridge to another place downstream and then build a new bridge in its place, as was recently done in Page County on Route 340. The closeness of the Crab Run Bridge to a historic district and the small size of the adjacent lots prevent this, Penner said.
VDOT has had success in finding new owners for old truss bridges in the past, usually with golf courses. Finding a new owner and relocating a T-beam bridge is more challenging, Penner said.
The size and mass of a concrete T-beam bridge make it more difficult to move. "Truss bridges are easier - they are sort of like Tinker Toys - you just dismantle them and then move them," Weakely explained.
VDOT is offering the estimated cost of demolition, $62,000, to offset the expense of relocating the bridge for a new owner.
Howard Kittel, executive director of Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation, said the foundation has not responded to VDOT's request because its focus is on protecting and preserving the state of historic battlefields.
The foundation has asked to be a consulting party in plans for a replacement bridge.
The Highland County Board of Supervisors voted to decline VDOT's request this past month.
Construction of the replacement bridge is scheduled for 2010.
The deadline for interested parties to respond to VDOT is mid-July.
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