Work continues on restoration project of historic Barbour County bridge

CARROLLTON, W.Va. — Work on the restoration of the historic Carrollton Covered Bridge in Barbour County remains ongoing.

West Virginia Division of Highways (WVDOH) District 7 Bridge Engineer Chad Boram, P.E. spoke to MetroNews Tuesday about the progress of the work, which began in July. The bridge, the third oldest of 17 surviving covered bridges in West Virginia, was badly damaged by a fire in August 2017.

Boram said crews are trying to connect pieces in the same fashion they were in previous to the fire to maintain the historical aspect of the bridge.

“A lot of the top members, that are lateral members that go across, we got the majority of those replaced. The top cord has been replaced. These are all large lumber members that have to be specially cut,” he said.

The blaze, which was ruled arson, destroyed much of the outer covering of the bridge but left the basic structure mostly intact, the WVDOH stated in a recent release.

The WVDOH was able to reopen the bridge to traffic in September 2017 after minor repairs to the modern bridge superstructure to ensure the bridge was safe. Consultants then developed plans on how to best restore the structure.

With the full restoration project ongoing, the bridge is closed to vehicular traffic for safety purposes. Boram said that is because of the removal of the main structural members and having a temporary brace to keep things in place while replacing members.

When crews began the work in July, it started with a pressure wash. Once the bridge crews could see what they were dealing with they began to replace damaged sections of the bridge’s wooden superstructure, the WVDOH stated.

A team of half a dozen or so WVDOH members has been steadily at work on location. The WVDOH originally planned to hire a contractor to restore the historic structure but decided to work with local WVDOH crews.

“We’ve realized that it may be even more difficult than we imagined,” Boram said of the complexity of the project. “Just because we realized the main structural members were in worse condition than we knew going in.”

The bridge was built in 1856 by brothers Emmett and Daniel O’Brien and crosses the Buckhannon River near Carrollton. At 140 feet, it is one of the longest surviving covered bridges in West Virginia, the WVDOH stated.

The bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.

Boram hopes to complete restoration work on the bridge by the spring of 2023 and open to vehicular traffic this winter.

The project is expected to cost about $1 million and is completely funded with federal dollars.





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