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100-year-old Blackford bridge to be moved to park Thursday

The more than 100-year-old bridge over Blackford Creek will be removed and hauled to its new home in a park in Henderson County on Thursday, more than a year after the Kentucky

 

Transportation Cabinet accepted proposals for who might take the closed bridge and give it a new life.

Contractors were working on the bridge Wednesday afternoon, preparing it to be lifted and trailered to Sandy Lee Watkins Park in Henderson, where it will become part of a walking trail along with other antique bridges.
The Pratt half-hip pony truss bridge was built around 1919 or 1920 by the Champion Bridge Company out of Wilmington, Ohio, and is believed to have been part of the original route of Highway 60.
In October 2018 the KYTC closed the bridge to traffic after determining that it couldn’t safely carry the weight of contemporary traffic. The next year it announced that it would give the bridge to someone who could show that they’d repurpose it and preserve its history.

Seven proposals were turned in before the December 1, 2019 deadline, but Sandy Lee Watkins Park was chosen for its dedication to preserving the bridge’s history and for its plan to use it on a long walking trail in the 535-acre park.
Knight’s Construction and Excavating, Inc. out of Slaughters, Ky. was awarded the relocation project bid at a cost of $54,560.

By Dave Taylor
dave.hancockclarion
@gmail.com

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