OXFORD – Plans to begin work on replacing the historic Oxford truss bridge have been pushed back for two years. Work is now scheduled to begin in 2009.
The delay is due to the fact that the Oxford bridge, the surrounding area and even the “Oxford Crossing” itself are considered historical landmarks. “Additional precautions are being taken to preserve their significant community and historical value,” said Oxford Mayor Terry Stark.
“The engineering firm has narrowed down the choices, and there will be a public informational meeting at 7 tonight at the Oxford Fire Station,” said Public Works Director Randy Gibbon.
Stark said the chances of building another truss bridge are slim. “Putting a truss bridge in is unlikely. The expense is just cost prohibitive.” Delta Engineering will put on a public presentation at tonight’s meeting, and the bridge design they recommend includes an “open top bridge with no railing and a pedestal,” said Stark. A pedestal is a center support column that goes from the bridge into the river bed.
The bridge received a major overhaul in 1990, and the county recently had to perform emergency repairs. The bridge is regularly inspected, but the damage found at the last inspection in 2005 was worse than predicted. “The severity of this snuck up on everybody. The way these are designed, it can be difficult to tell the extent of the damage. When the damage does become obvious, it is often worse than it appears, and these things will get exponentially worse in a short amount of time,” said Delta Engineer and Project Manager David L. Kennicutt.
The expected cost of building a new bridge will be $2.4 million. Federal aid is expected to cover 80 percent of the cost. “It’s pretty much a given,” said Gibbon. The state also offers aid, but it can vary between 15 and 5 percent. “This is not a guarantee, but typically, we (county) have been paying for 5 percent or a bit more of these projects in the past, but we can’t really know for sure,” said Gibbon.