Community input needed on restoring local historic bridge damaged by tornado

WEST UNION, Ohio (WKRC) – Restoring the historic Adams County Kirker Covered Bridge could cost up to a million dollars.

Adams County Travel & Visitors Bureau Executive Director Tom Cross said that two covered bridge construction firms looked at the bridge earlier this summer and came to similar conclusions about the work that needed to be done.

The beloved Adams County landmark was built in the late 1800s but was recently damaged by an EF-1 tornado on April 2. Now, local leaders are now turning to the community for guidance on the next steps.

“You can see where it’s washing out there,” Cross said.

The tornado made obvious damage to the bridge’s roof and siding, but Cross said that further evaluations by bridge construction firms uncovered more severe issues with the bridge’s foundation.

“You see that stone? It’s all starting to deteriorate,” Cross said. “There’s several layers up there of bad stone.”

The proposed repairs are extensive and costly.

“They’d have to jack the bridge up, rebuild the foundation—the stone foundation on both sides, replace several of the main wood beams underneath, and then put the bridge back down,” Cross said.

Without these repairs, contractors worry about the future of the bridge.

“It’s not critical failure yet, but it’s getting in really bad shape. A couple major floods could really harm it,” said Michael Killilea, President of The Righter Company.

To address it, Cross is hosting a public meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 24 to gather community input.

“Out of that meeting, we hope to have real clear direction afterwards, which hopefully we can get a committee together, a concerned group of citizens’ treasure because it could take two to three years to get that kind of funding pulled together,” Cross said.

Cross said he believes that the community will rally to save the bridge.

“It speaks to the soul of Adams County. This is our heritage right here, and you lose a part like this, you know, it’s irreplaceable,” Cross said.

The public meeting is scheduled for 4 pm at the Adams County Training Center on East Walnut Street in West Union. All community members are welcome to attend and share their thoughts on the future of the Kirker Bridge.