Local bridge receives federal grant for historic renovations

One of Monroe County's oldest bridges is about to receive a $485,000 face-lift.\nThe Gosport Bridge, which spans the White River in Northwest Monroe County, will undergo a major clean-up and renovation project this fall after receiving a $199,000 grant from the Department of Transportation, increasing the project's budget to $485,000.\nThe truss highway bridge was built in 1903 to replace a ferry system used to cross the river. With a span of 315 feet, it has yet to be out-done.\n"This is the longest single-span truss of its kind in the state," said Bill Williams, Monroe County Highway Director. "So that in itself says something about the workmanship and the material they used years ago."\nIn 1996 the bridge was placed on the National Register of Historic Places at the request of the Wampler family, descendents of Senator Asahal Wampler, who was responsible for acquiring funds to build the bridge.\nAccording to Cheryl Ann Munson, a research scientist in the department of anthropology at IU and chair of the Historic Preservation Board for Monroe County, the bridge's restoration has been a long-time goal for the preservation board.\n"We're very excited that this is going to happen, because our board actually designated this particular bridge site as the first county historical site," she said. "It is certainly well-recognized by our board and the county for its significance."\nIn 1990 a new bridge was built directly beside the Gosport bridge in order to serve local traffic. The project received $2 million in federal funds, and as part of the funding agreement, Monroe county agreed to keep the old bridge in good repair.\nAccording to Williams, the agreement provided the county with a unique opportunity.\n"It's a piece of our past, a piece of history... It's really neat, when you're driving on the other bridge, to be ale to look over and look back at history, if you will, and see how things were over 100 years ago," he said.\nThe Gosport bridge is now used by pedestrians and fishermen and will continue to serve pedestrian traffic after renovations, which include a thorough cleaning of the bridge, two coats of paint, primer, and structural replacements and repairs to floor beam connections and bracing rods.\nWilliams said the renovation, which will hopefully have the bridge restored by this time next year, is the product of much careful planning.\n"We've been working on this probably for about the last four years, putting plans together and discussing strategies," he said. "I'm very happy."\nMunson said preserving historical elements, such as the bridge, is important to the community for a number of reasons.\n"I think we recognize what's valuable in our society and what was valuable in previous years ... and that information tells us about who we are today," she said. "By preserving historic sites, we teach future generations where they came from and what's valuable, so it's a way of providing continuity across the generations."\nAccording to Munson, Bloomington places a great deal of importance on historic preservation, and has both a Bloomington preservation board as well as a Monroe county preservation board in order to do so.\n"Many counties have not yet reached the stage of having a county historical preservation board," she said. "I think we're very fortunate to have a county that recognizes and takes care of our important historic sites"