Briar Creek Park Bridge repairs almost complete

Repairs are almost complete on the Briar Creek Park Bridge.

Flooding in late April and early May damaged the bridge, which has been closed since.

Repairs began to the bridge on July 3.

“Hopefully, the bridge at Briar Creek Park will be completed and open this week,” Williamsburg Mayor Roddy Harrison told the city council during its monthly meeting Monday.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet announced Thursday that Williamsburg would receive $25,000 in municipal road aid emergency funds for the repair.

“The Bevin administration is committed to the Cabinet’s mission of providing a safe, reliable transportation network for all Kentuckians,” said Transportation Cabinet Secretary Greg Thomas. “These emergency funds will help local governments repair and restore damaged infrastructure throughout their communities.”

Harrison said that the total project cost is expected to be about $35,000.

Harrison plans to use some of the city’s regular municipal road aid funds to cover the remaining cost of the work that the emergency grant didn’t cover.

Harrison said the bridge was damaged in the spring when one of the tiles under the bridge got stopped up causing flood water to go over the bridge and essentially washing the black top off of it.

The new bridge is totally concrete.

“We decided to go ahead and do concrete sides and a concrete top too,” Harrison said. “The top has a ledge-stone block. It is for aesthetics. Those things weigh 1,500 pounds apiece so I don’t think they are going to go anywhere. When all is said and done, we are going to have a tougher bridge. I think a prettier bridge.”

Harrison said city maintenance workers will now check the two tiles under the bridge every six months to ensure they aren’t blocked and to remove any debris from them.