WASTE WATCH: Covered Bridge Delays

MADISON COUNTY -- West Jefferson residents are warming up to the bridges of Madison County. The covered bridge on Taylor-Blair Road is now open to traffic. The bridge was supposed to open last fall, but there were several delays, and the builder was granted extensions that lasted through May 10.

Madison County Engineer David Brand says, "Any project you go through frustration points. You have to deal with a lot of issues you didn't plan on."

For months the bridge was shut down and residents were forced to make a 10-mile detour into town. Brand says it was frustrating but stands behind the decision to build a covered bridge, “This was a good choice in this location.”

In neighboring Union County, a covered bridge on Buck Run Road is shut down because of structural issues. It was built by the same company, but Union County Commissioner Gary Lee says he has no complaints with the builder. Lee is waiting on an environmental study from Washington, D.C., "We have to go back into the creek and shore up the building to make the needed repairs."

They are waiting on the study and the temperatures to rise to protect the endangered mussels in the Darby Creek. Similar issues with the mussels and environmental studies caused the delays in Madison County.