Fort Scott Tribune: Local News: Rural bridge beginning to collapse (03/16/10)

A traffic cone is placed on Maple Road between 145th and 155th streets to warn pedestrians of a two-foot hole in the road left when the bridge's structure collapsed Sunday morning. Maple Road is closed to through traffic between 145th and 155th streets until repairs can be made.
(Michael Pommier/Tribune)

[Click to enlarge]

It may not be London Bridge, but it a bridge in rural Bourbon County is falling down.

Nearby resident Bob Collins noticed a hole in the asphalt on Maple Road (Old 54) near his home between 145th and 155th streets near Redfield.

According to Bourbon County Emergency Manager Keith Jeffers, the hole in the bridge which passes over Cedar Creek, was a result of the underground structure collapsing. He said the freezing and thawing from the snow storms between Dec. 22, 2009 and Jan. 8, 2010 caused the supports -- made of stone and mortar -- to break loose.

The area around the hole, according to Jeffers, has only about 2 inches of asphalt remaining.

"I was even a little leery of walking on it," he said.

In addition to the hole, Jeffers said the center support under the 12-foot bridge is leaning and is expected to collapse within the next few days.

"This is an extremely dangerous situation," he said.

With many similarly constructed bridges across the county, Jeffers encourages all residents to keep their eye out for signs of damage and notify the Bourbon County Public Works Department.

"This is a damage that unfortunately we are going to find more of," Jeffers said. "It is probably going to happen in other locations."

The storms which are believed to have caused the damage were declared as a federal disaster last week by President Barack Obama. The declaration lists 45 Kansas counties -- including Bourbon, Crawford, Allen, and Linn counties -- which will be eligible for public assistance for emergency work and the repair and replacement of disaster-damaged facilities.

According to Jeffers, the Bourbon County Public Works Department is in the process of getting all the needed materials to begin repairing the bridge. He said work should begin in a few days.