NEWS

City still gathering information for bridge project

Matthew Kent
Reporter

CHILLICOTHE – City officials are still gathering information on a proposed bridge rehabilitation project in Yoctangee Park and hope to get things moving sometime this year.

Parks and Recreation Director Dave Tener said he wants to look at the project from a structural perspective first before proceeding, noting that officials have already looked at some of the stones that have fallen off the structure, which was constructed in 1935 and replaced a wooden bridge that once stood at the site.

“We’re going slowly to make sure we do it right,” Tener said. “We’re trying to look at it carefully.”

It remains unclear how much the project will cost the city, but some funding has already been secured through a 5K race in downtown Chillicothe in April. The City Run, a 5K race sponsored by Open Door Church that made its debut last year, raised about $12,000 toward the bridge project, Tener said.

Tener said earlier this year that he had hoped to lower the water level of Yoctangee Lake so a comprehensive evaluation could be made, but he noted that the amount of rain in the area this summer has proved to be a challenge.

Tener said he hopes the project will still move ahead this year, adding that he hopes to have a group of contractors each assess the structure so they can determine what it might cost to make the necessary repairs.

Once that occurs, the city hopes to eventually solicit and award a bid to a contractor, though work will be contingent on the respective entity’s time frame, Tener said.

“Once we determine what the issues are ... they have to work it into their schedule,” he said.