COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. (AP) — Carefully, piece by piece, the Hamilton Construction crew is dismantling an aged and rare covered railroad bridge in Cottage Grove, Ore. Hamilton superintendent Bob Fletcher says the job requires surgical care. Anything too dramatic could send the whole 94-year-old bridge tumbling into the Row River.
The city plans to rebuild the bridge later.
The crew has already taken the siding off and then the roof, in five parts. Next came the gable.
Cottage Grove has money to do the job thanks to a $1.3 million grant from the National Historic Covered Bridge Preservation Program. And it decided it had to act fast after learning that a January windstorm had knocked the already leaning bridge even farther out of plumb than it was the last time it was measured.
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Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com
