State approves

Todd bridge

enhancements
By Scott Nicholson
nicholson@wataugademocrat.com

Additional enhancements for a new bridge over the New River in Todd have been approved five years after local residents expressed concern over changes that could block access to a community park.

The bridge over the South Fork of the New River adjoins Todd Island Park and two historic sites near the bridge. The new bridge will replace a one-lane, low-water bridge that is designed to allow rising floodwaters to flow over it. The bridge connects Castle Ford Road and Railroad Grade Road about two miles from the Todd historic district.

Residents were concerned about the potential impact of the bridge, particularly because of the park access.

The current parking lot borders the bridge, but the state's plans show an access road underneath the new bridge. The park was purchased with community funds in the 1990s as a project of the nonprofit Todd Community Preservation Organization and is largely used as a walking trail.

Joyner expects funding for right-of-way acquisition to be included in the plan, as well as money for construction of the bridge beginning in 2008. The bridge was originally scheduled for construction in 2006, but lack of funds and analysis of public comments pushed the project back.

"It looks like they told us they were going to do the last time we met, which was about a year ago," said Beth Morrison, president of the Todd Community Preservation Organization. "We were against it because it will affect the park. We won't have as much room as we did."

Neither of the historic properties will be included in the right-of way-acquisition, with one on each side of the river. Neither are on the National Register of Historic Places, but both are eligible, which carried a higher level of planning responsibility. The right-of-way acquisitions will begin this year, with construction to take place next year. The work is expected to take a year.

The new bridge will be of light brown concrete, with three supporting piers. A galvanized steel beam will be painted a rust color, with brown stone placed at the footer of each side of the bridge. The 240-foot span, which will be 40 feet wide, is expected to cost $769,000.

The additional enhancements recently approved by the N.C. Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration include rust-colored guardrails and bridge railings, two-tube mounted posts at the bridge curbs, five bridge spans, and a stamped-stone surface treatment on the bridge-end supports.

Greg Blakeney, project developer for NCDOT, said the improvements were in response to community concerns gathered at two public meetings. "It's designed to fall into the backdrop and not be an eyesore," Blakeney said. "It will improve aesthetics."

Blakeney said the height of the park-access underpass will be 11 feet. The bridge will stand 16 feet above the river's typical level.

The park contains six acres and the parking lot is about an acre. "I think they really made an effort to make it blend in more than a plain white concrete bridge,'" Morrison said. "We'd rather they didn't do it but they're going to do it. We're going to hold them to converting the end of the end of the existing road into a public river access. They have not yet come to TCPO on right-of-way acquisition but of course they're going to have to, since they're taking a portion of the parking lot. We're looking forward to talking with them about that."

The current low-water bridge will remain in place during construction, preventing a possible 8-mile detour for motorists.

"It's not really what we wanted but it will help the people on Castle Ford Road," Morrison said. "It will also save the state from having to clean up debris from the low-water bridge every time there's a flood, which I guess is part of the reason for the new bridge."