Alex Paul
It may not be falling down, but the Weddle Covered Bridge, a symbol of the community for the last 15 years in Sankey Park, is in bad shape and the old girl needs some tender loving care.
The bridge was moved in pieces to the community after local logging and mill jobs were slashed in the late 1980s and early 1990s due to new federal timber harvest regulations associated with the Endangered Species Act.
The bridge was constructed by volunteers as a way of unifying the community as it shifted toward economic diversification, primarily tourism. It has become an icon for Sweet Home. A place for car shows, weddings and reunions. It is a guaranteed stop whenever a community tour is underway. It also serves as the backdrop for the annual Oregon Jamboree in Sweet Home, recently named the state’s best country music festival.
“We started taking a hard look at the Weddle Bridge issues last spring when Alex Paul of The New Era was taking a photograph of the Sportsman’s Holiday court,” said Karla Burcham, Chamber of Commerce volunteer. “We had a hard time finding a place on the bridge to pose the girls because it was raining so hard and the roof was leaking badly.”
That incident was the impetus for development of a task force to examine the needs of the bridge and to begin seeking funding resources. Task force members are Pat Wood, City Public Works Dept.; Mike Adams, Public Works Director; Howard Dew, original member of Cascade Forest Resource Center; Larry Blem, Sweet Home Chamber of Commerce; Ben Dahlenburg, SHHS instructor and original Weddle Bridge construction team member; Scott Proctor, member of Cascade Forest Resource Center; Alex and Debbie Paul of The New Era; Karla Burcham, Chamber of Commerce volunteer; Karen Owen, Sweet Home Economic Development Group, Inc.
The project comes as the bridge celebrates its 15th year in the community. Built originally in 1937, the bridge spanned Thomas Creek near the Weddle Ranch. In 1979, due to its poor condition, the bridge was bypassed for daily traffic and by 1988, it had been dismantled and was in storage near Scio.
The two-year reconstruction project began in 1988 and was completed in 1990. It remains the largest covered bridge–120 feet–moved and rebuilt in the state.
Pat Wood, of the Public Works Department, has documented issues surrounding the structure including: vandalism, holes in the shake roof, dry rot in huge structural beams, rotted railings leading along the path to the bridge and extensive mold on the bridge facade.
The reason bridges were covered was to preserve the wood decking from the weather. The huge holes in the Weddle Bridge roof allow rain to leak onto its deck. In time, those boards will rot and would be expensive to replace.
Cost of repairs could top $35,000 task force members have learned, depending on severity of the dry rot as well as whether a new cedar shingle roof is needed.
If the current roof can be patched, or if the roof is replaced with metal, costs would fluctuate.
The task force is trying to establish the bridge on the state’s historic register but because it had been moved from its original location, had not previously been listed.
If it cannot be listed, the metal roof would make long-term maintenance easier and more cost effective, task force members have learned.
Ben Dahlenburg, SHHS construction technology instructor, said his students have painted the bridge more than once, but state regulations now dictate that students cannot work on high-level projects.
The good news, Pat Wood said, is that testing of the bridge paint indicates none of the old paint is lead-based, which would require a huge investment in terms of protection of the Ames Creek watershed.
If cleaning and painting were undertaken in August or early September, when water flow could easily be mitigated via a conduit, impact on the stream would be minimal, utilizing plastic sheeting to trap peeled paint and other dislodged debris.
The bad news is that the City of Sweet Home has not been able to budget any funds for repair or maintenance of the bridge, although city staff does as much work as possible on the facility.
It was learned at the most recent meeting of the task force that the Northwest Youth Corps would be willing to work on the project. The NYC will be working for most of August at River Bend Campground, Cascadia, but could also spend time at the Weddle Bridge project.
Brian Carroll, Linn County Parks director, has offered to assist the task force in applying for grants to help pay for needed work.
The Sweet Home Ranger District has offered to provide some cedar materials to help patch the bridge’s roof.
City staff is worried that vandals may someday cause a fire that could destroy the bridge. Pat Wood has said there have been times when remnants of fires burned on the wooden bridge floor have been found. Vandals have also destroyed the bridge’s fire alarm system.
A gate system may need to be installed, task force members have agreed, if the bridge is to be maintained for the long-term and kept safe from vandals.