Walk on

Historic pedestrian bridge moved for repairs

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The Sears Hill Bridge is lowered into the parking lot of the Depot Grille on Monday. Credit: Rosanne Weber/Staff
Dan Nulty, left, and Chris Hughes watch from a second-floor window on Middlebrook Avenue as the Sears Hill Bridge is being prepared to be lifted on Monday.
Workers prepare the Sears Hill Bridge to be lifted by a crane Monday.
Workers prepare the Sears Hill Bridge to be lifted by a crane Monday.
The Sears Hill Bridge is lifted from its foundation.
The Sears Hill Bridge is lifted above the businesses near the Staunton train station.
The Sears Hill Bridge is lowered onto a flat bed truck to be taken to Blue Ridge Lumber in Fishersville for storage.
This 1930 photo shows the C&O Railroad introduction of The Sportsman. The Staunton Military Academy Corps of Cadets accompanies the eastbound train and the historic pedestrian bridge connecting downtown to Sears Hill can be seen in the background. Credit: Submitted

By: Megan Davis | The Daily Progress
Published: November 01, 2010

More than a year after people in Sears Hill began clamoring for upgrades, a first step toward restoring a historic pedestrian bridge was made Monday.

Blue Ridge Lumber Company lifted and moved the 105-year-old span with a large crane over the restored Wharf District train station and onto a flat-bed trailer. The company is storing the eight-ton, 61-foot-long bridge in Fishersville until structural engineers and contractors can assess the span’s condition and estimate the cost of restoration.

Historic preservation experts call the steel-and-truss pedestrian bridge a rarity.

“The survival of a historic one is pretty unusual,” said Marc Wagner, designation manager for the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. “They’re more difficult to maintain. They’re out in the elements and take a lot of beatings.”

The National Register of Historic Places recognizes 2,475 bridges, 28 of which are in Virginia. Very few of the structures were built as pedestrian bridges, said John Byrne, a database manager.

“Usually historic pedestrian bridges started as rail or car bridges,” said Alexis Abernathy, a national register reviewer. “I’ve only heard of one purely pedestrian historic bridge.”

A group of interested residents recently established a Friends of the Sears Hill Bridge organization to seek funds for the repair work.

“We want to make this a very broad civic campaign,” said Bill Frazier, a member of the group. “We’ve gotten a lot of interest already from people offering to give money and donate services.”

After heated negotiations, owner Richard Macher and the city reached an agreement in late July to each contribute $20,000 toward restoration. Officials initially estimated repairs would cost more than $100,000. The city took ownership of the bridge today after it was moved.

The city ordered the span closed in January after an engineering study deemed it unsafe.

The Community Foundation of Central Blue Ridge is accepting donations, which may be claimed as charitable donations. Donations marked for Friends of the Sears Hill Bridge may be mailed to the foundation at P.O. Box 815, Staunton, Virginia, 24402-0815.