Excitement growing with Spellacy Covered Bridge growth
With the two trusses in place and the floor beams in place, the Spellacy Covered Bridge continues to take shape and is in line for its September completion.
Once just a random thought in someone’s mind, the Spellacy Covered Bridge project in Loudonville on Wally Road has grown from concept to blueprint and blossomed into reality, and now the bridge is well on its way to becoming one more addition to the Holmes County and Mohican Valley landscape.
Recently, Spellacy Covered Bridge has gone through several key stages in the building process, as Kokosing, the company brought in to construct the bridge, continues to complete the bridge by this fall.
The recent erection of the gigantic trusses and the placing of the floor beams signify the growth of the construction job and only serve to increase the anticipation of a covered bridge that will eventually span 300 feet in length with a width of 24 feet. It is an $8.5 million project, for which Holmes County secured federal grant funding, and it will eventually become one of the largest covered bridges in the nation.
“Kokosing has done a fabulous job, and everything is going great,” Holmes County commissioner Chris Young said. “This bridge is going to be a special part of our county and a truly wonderful destination for many people, plus it will serve a vital role, considering that the old bridge there wasn’t able to safely allow heavy transport over it.”
Rick Cope, Kokosing superintendent, said the progress on the new bridge has been rolling along as scheduled, and with each day the bridge gets closer to becoming not only a fixture of the Loudonville area that will enhance travel, but also will become a draw that will bring people from all over the United States because there is a large contingent in the nation who enjoy traveling around the states to view and photograph covered bridges.
On April 11 the progress of the bridge saw plenty of fanfare when the trusses were erected, marking the first real movement skyward on the project.
Each of the trusses weighs in at 168,000 pounds.
While this bridge process isn’t a massive one for Kokosing, Cope said it definitely was a unique one, with plenty of new obstacles to overcome, the least of them not being the need to work across the expanse of the Mohican River.
“We definitely have enjoyed the challenge this presents,” Cope said. “It’s going to be an incredibly beautiful structure when it’s finally done, and it is going to bring a lot of people to the area to view it. Covered bridges are a pretty big draw around the country, and hopefully, it means great things for the many area businesses who will benefit from the influx of people who come to visit.”
The proposed finish date for the bridge is Sept. 5, and Cope said that date remains on target, with the possibility of finishing it sooner.
“It’s been a little bit wetter than we would have liked, but that hasn’t been a huge obstacle,” Cope said. “What has been the biggest challenge has been the water itself in the river. Since we started the project, we are up more than 15 inches of rain, and that has caused some swelling in the river.”
In placing the trusses, Cope said his crews began working around 8:30 a.m., and it took them approximately seven hours to completely install the two pieces and secure them in place.
“It’s a lot of work, but it’s going to be well worth the effort when it’s all said and done,” Cope said.
“This is truly going to be something special that our community can be proud of once it’s done,” Young said.
Young said Kokosing is now placing the decking, and each step brings the project closer to its conclusion.
Young continues to not only visit the sight to gain perspective concerning the progress, but also has created a 24-hour-a-day live streaming for the bridge that allows people to log on to see the progress.
Anyone wishing to remain updated on the progress can visit www.mohicangreenway.com and click Construction Projects at the top of the page. They also can see details of the bridge. Those interested also can visit https://m.twitch.tv/holmescountyengineer, a direct link to the live streaming feed.
“The progress has been really interesting to watch, and it is going smoothly,” Young said. “The floor beams are being placed, and people can really get a better sense of what it’s going to look like with each step of the process.”