Sept. 03--Ohio is second only to Pennsylvania in the number of original, historic covered bridges still dotting the state, according to a bridge-preservation group.
The wooden spans are in constant peril, however, from slat-kicking vandals, graffiti-scrawling taggers and arsonists.
The number of originals has declined to about 145 across Ohio. Thousands of covered bridges once spanned creeks and streams statewide, said David Simmons, the president of the Ohio Historic Bridge Association. Pennsylvania has more than 200 left.
The challenge of preserving Ohio's collection was demonstrated again on June 6, when someone torched the Ponn Humpback Bridge in Vinton County. It was among five covered bridges that drew visitors to the scenic but impoverished southeastern Ohio county, where the economy depends on tourism.
The Ponn Humpback was special because of its rounded shape -- it was one of only two like it in the nation. The other is in Virginia.
"It was devastating to everyone," said Vinton County Engineer Ron Sharrett. "The problem is that there is nothing you can do to reconstruct it. The entire bridge went down."
About $300,000 in county, state and federal funds were spent 10 years ago to rehabilitate the 1874 bridge, Sharrett said.
The state fire marshal determined it was arson, and the county sheriff is continuing to investigate.
It's difficult to catch the people who deliberately harm the old covered bridges, which were built in Ohio from 1816 to 1919, Simmons said. Many no longer carry traffic and sit in isolated, rural areas that are not well-lighted.
"Once it's not in use, it attracts all kinds of firebugs," he said.
That's what happened to the covered bridge on the Ohio University-Lancaster campus in January. The fire was extinguished before it consumed the bridge but caused an estimated $20,000 damage to its wooden decking and support posts. The 1881 bridge has been rebuilt and reopened to foot traffic, and the arson remains under investigation, Lancaster Police detective Brian Grefe said.
Fairfield County has 18 original covered bridges, the most among the state's 88 counties. Ashtabula County in northeastern Ohio also has 18, including some new ones.
"They are a part of our heritage that we can touch," said David Fey, the director of Fairfield County Historical Parks.
Fey watched recently as workers repaired an 1867 covered bridge in Lockville Park. A tree-trimmer's truck with a high cherry-picker bucket had backed into the bridge top and damaged it. Separately, vandals had kicked in the wooden slats along one side of the bridge.
None of Fairfield County's covered bridges carries traffic, and there are no plans to build modern covered bridges.
Union County has taken a different approach by building three covered bridges.
"It fits with our heritage and our interest in maintaining our heritage," said county Engineer Jeff Stauch.
The new ones join the county's four originals. Among the originals, three of the single-lane, weight-limited bridges carry traffic. The fourth was moved to a recreational trail, Stauch said.
The new covered bridges are two-lane and carry all legal loads. Their substructure is concrete. Their superstructure -- including the truss framework, the cover and the sides -- is about 90 percent timber, with some steel supports, Stauch said.
The Buck Run Bridge spanning Big Darby Creek, built in 2006 for about $1.65 million, is currently closed. The covered bridge required more bracing to hold the truss framework in place. The bridge designer's insurance company will pay for the estimated $288,000 in repairs, not the county, Stauch said.
@MaryBethLane1
Copyright 2013 - The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio
