Mill Race Park’s historic covered bridge will get a new roof, which will result in temporary traffic restrictions.
The Bartholomew County commissioners will pay Southern Roofing Inc. $62,900 to replace the wood shake shingle roof on the bridge.
Roof replacement can be done in cold weather, but Southern Roofing has to coordinate with the Columbus Parks and Recreation Department to find a time when the bridge can be closed that does not interfere with park activities, Bartholomew County Highway engineer Danny Hollander said.
While the state of Indiana has set aside about $30,000 for the historic covered bridge project, the rest of the cost will be paid out of Bartholomew County’s cumulative bridge fund, commissioners chairman Larry Kleinhenz said.
Although the bridge is in a city park, the county has jurisdiction over all bridges that are not located on either state or federal highways, Kleinhenz said.
Hollander and former county highway engineer Charlie Day say the roof repair may be the first major renovation since the bridge was placed in the park 32 years ago.
The original covered bridge at Mill Race Park, which spanned Clifty Creek on the south end of Gladstone Avenue from 1880 to 1966, was destroyed by an arsonist on Nov. 30, 1985.
Since the blaze was intentionally set while the entire park was flooded, firefighters couldn’t even approach the bridge to try to put out the flames.
But within a month, a replacement bridge was found. Originally located near Brownsville in Union County in 1839, the 188-foot crossing was considered the state’s oldest covered bridge still at its original site for several decades.
After it was acquired by the Indianapolis Parks and Recreation Department in 1974, the bridge was moved to a storage area in Marion County where it sat for 12 years.
When the original plan to rebuild the bridge in Eagle Creek Park was finally dropped in 1985, officials from Columbus immediately stepped in to acquire the timbers. The current bridge in Mill Race Park was first opened to the public on June 20, 1986.
Two other bids to replace the roof were higher that Southern Roofing’s bid. Zeh Builders of Columbus offered to do the work for $94,560 while another local firm, Hays and Son, bid $118,576.
Since the bridge is nearly surrounded by water, the project does require time-consuming methods for disposal of old roofing material, Hollander said.
