When I was a boy growing up on the south side, going to the doctor near the current YMCA, meant going over Schreiber's Bridge. Being built in 1828, the bridge even back then was over a hundred years old. When the 15th Street (Ward Street) Bridge opened in 1954, who would imagine that it would come and go, while the stone arch bridge continued providing passage over the creek.
The Little Bridge That Could took quite a beating during the last couple of years, while constructing the
new 15th Street Bridge. Trucks smashed the northern entrance walls no less than three times, turning on to Martin Luther King Drive. Although it is understandable that the City will wait until this Spring to repair the walls, there exists a more urgent matter. From the extensive use caused by the detour, and this harsh winter, the roadbed is badly cracked over the bridge's arch. These openings allow water to enter and seep down into the stone arch. Perhaps the city administration could give the historic bridge some special attention yet this winter, it certainly has earned some consideration.
reprinted from February of 2014
Schreiber's Bridge is a treasure. It would be nice if the City treated it that way.
ReplyDeleteSince you mentioned maintenance, I happened to be downtown this morning and I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the condition of the City's roadways after a lightweight, 6-inch snow.
There are few roads that were plowed curb to curb, and this naturally makes parking difficult and narrows the roadways. This makes driving or parking downtown difficult and unpleasant.
This snow stopped on Sunday night, I find it difficult to believe that city road crews couldn't have done better in the 24+ hours since. With little to none of the prior nuisance snows left, this should have been an easy one to remove quickly and get the roadways back to normal quickly.
It astounds me that after 3 years in office, our mayor can't get snow plowing/removal right. Maybe he had those who should have been clearing the snow busy attending a DEI seminar.
Whatever the reason, if the city can't handle a relatively easy snowfall, it doesn't make me confident that they're on top of the maintenance that structures like Schreiber's Bridge requires.