Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
The Sweet Home City Council approved the use of $6,261.61 as part of the Sweet Home Economic Development Group?s challenge to raise $20,000 toward the repair of Weddle Bridge.
SHEDG has agreed to match up to $20,000 in donations to the project and has extended the length of the challenge into November.
Weddle Bridge was closed to public access after an engineer determined that it needed structural repairs, City Manager Craig Martin said. After the closure, SHEDG pledged to match up to $20,000.
The Save the Weddle Bridge Committee, in conjunction with the city of Sweet Home and the Sweet Home President?s Club, has raised approximately $13,000 of the $20,000 challenged, Martin said.
?From what we have heard from the city and President?s Club, we expect the total amount raised to be at or near $20,000,? SHEDG Vice President Kevin Strong said.
The city?s contribution comes from proceeds from the harvest of timber at the city?s water tower in Strawberry Heights for its contribution, Martin said. The city harvested the timber to upgrade its police dispatch system.
The total cost to repair the bridge and restore public access is estimated between $70,000 and $120,000, Martin said. ?A firmer cost estimate should be available within the next 30 days pending final engineering and bid document development,? he said.
The effort to repair Weddle Bridge began last year after a leaky roof became an obvious problem. The effort was initially aimed at repairing the bridge, but structural problems were identified at the end of the summer when an engineer examined the bridge.
The bridge was placed in Sankey Park 15 years ago after a community group, the Cascade Forest Resources Council, acquired the dismantled bridge from Stayton. The Weddle Bridge originally spanned Thomas Creek near Stayton.