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Volunteer group asks Waterville to find owner, funding to preserve interurban bridge
Summary
A volunteer group, Save the Bridge, asked Waterville officials to help identify an owner and to allow the city to act as agent for grant applications to preserve and mothball the deteriorating Waterville interurban bridge after an ODOT meeting.
A volunteer group called Save the Bridge updated Waterville City Council on May 12 and asked the council to help identify an owner and to facilitate fundraising for the deteriorating Waterville interurban bridge.
Group member Dave Weber told the council he and other volunteers met with the Ohio Department of Transportation and were left with “two options” in ODOT’s view: demolition or some preservation path that requires an owner to assume responsibility. “They only saw 2 options,” Weber told council. He said the volunteers need either a local owner — such as the city, Metroparks Toledo, or another entity — or a mechanism for the city to accept and hold funds while ownership is resolved.
Weber suggested two practical steps: either have the city act as the grant applicant/agent so volunteers can prepare and submit foundation applications, or have volunteers prepare completed applications and then have a city official submit them to allow funds to be received and held in an earmarked account. He said grant timelines are long and the group is seeking interim measures to protect public safety and buy time.
He described ODOT granting a one-year delay but said the department still considers the structure “unsafe.” Weber proposed short-term “mothballing” work — for example, installing steel cables and turnbuckles to reduce spandrel pressure — that might allow the bridge to be safer for kayakers and fishermen while a long-term owner and funding plan is developed. He estimated that immediate work might cost “maybe $50,000 at this point,” and he said the group welcomes volunteers and help finding an owner.
Council members acknowledged the ODOT meeting and said staff would continue discussions. No formal council action was taken during the public comment period.
Why it matters: the bridge is a local historic structure and a potential public-safety risk; identifying an owner and securing funding are prerequisites to preservation work and grant eligibility.
