Burnt Mill Bridge Construction Progresses

August 11, 2005

ROBBINS — Depending upon how the weather cooperates over the next several months, the new bridge at Burnt Mill Ford could be completed and Honey Creek Road reopened by July 2006. Construction on the new bridge began earlier this summer after the Scott County Commission awarded the project to Huntsville’s J&M Construction.

J&M representative Dwayne Potter said Monday that the project is progressing well.

“We’re putting in foundations for the piers right now, and we’ve already poured a couple of retaining walls on the roadway leading down to the bridge,” Potter said. “We anticipate probably setting spans across the river in the next couple or three months, providing we continue to get this good weather.”

Potter said workers hope to be completed by next July.

“We had originally anticipated being finished by May of next year, but holdups due to permits and some engineering on the bridge backed us up about 60 days,” he said.

The bridge, Potter said, will consist of a four-span concrete structure. The bridge itself will consist of two 10-ft. lanes. The bridge will be skewed, he said, with the entrance on the Scott County side being 15 feet or less from the abutment of the original bridge, while the entrance on the Fentress County side will be some 40 feet from the bridge abutment.

The entire length of the bridge will be 250 feet, Potter said.

The Burnt Mill Bridge has been closed since 2002, when inspectors from the state Department of Transportation deemed it unsafe for vehicular traffic.

Burnt Mill Ford is located on Honey Creek Road, which spans from West Robbins Road to Mt. Helen Road in Fentress County. The majority of the route falls within the boundary of the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area.

While construction is ongoing, the Burnt Mill Ford river access area remains open to the public, but the only access is from the Fentress County portion of Honey Creek Road. The Scott County side is closed to vehicles between the bridge and the road’s intersection with Al Martin Road.

Scott County Mayor Dwight Murphy has previously indicated that the original Burnt Mill Bridge will be preserved and used for foot traffic.

news@ihoneida.com

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