Save It

When Ryan White set out to learn why the Sears Hill Bridge is important to people in Staunton, he was taken aback by the enthusiastic response he received.

“It was a real eye-opening experience for me,” said White, of Tri21 Media in Stuarts Draft. “I didn’t realize it was such a historic landmark. I hope it’s back and all fixed up soon and it’s never taken for granted.”

White recently teamed up with Denise Hood of Creative Juices Media in Staunton to create Save It, a short film documenting individuals’ feelings about the steel and truss pedestrian bridge that linked the Sears Hill neighborhood to downtown for more than 100 years.

The video won first place in a contest sponsored by the Staunton Downtown Development Association in conjunction with community efforts to raise awareness about and funds for the bridge’s restoration.

“The two of us went out and talked to folks in downtown about what they thought about the bridge and if they wanted it back,” Hood said. “People told us that it’s a work of art, the best view in town and gave us so many other great one-liners.”

After it was deemed structurally unsafe and closed in January 2010, people of Sears Hill and downtown business owners clamored for the city council to reopen the bridge which they say has historical significance in addition to serving as a vital public walkway.

After heated negotiations, owner Richard Macher and the city reached an agreement to each contribute $20,000 toward restoration. The city agreed to take ownership of the bridge and, a year ago, Blue Ridge Lumber Company used a crane to move the 8-ton, 61-foot-long structure so engineers and contractors could assess its condition and estimate a cost for repairs.

A groundswell of support culminated in the formation of Friends of the Sears Hill Bridge which, in conjunction with the Community Foundation of the Central Blue Ridge, has to date raised $115,000 of an estimated $200,000 needed to repair the bridge, said Becky Kohler, CEO of the foundation.

Efforts to save the bridge have been well-received, said Julie Markowitz, executive director of SDDA.

“It’s important that the community stand behind it,” she said. “Part of the reason we have such a beautiful city is because of our preservationist culture. This is another example of how important it is to preserve what we have.”

The winning video can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StLrKIiPIIQ