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Countyold tollSingle-lane spanin bad shapeRICHARD KERNSTimes-News Staff WriterOLDTOWN — Allegany County Public Works officials announced Tuesday that the Oldtown toll bridge will be closed “until further notice” effective today.The closure of the privately-owned, wood-plank bridge severed a vital link between Allegany County and Hampshire County, W.Va., and promised to disrupt commuting and delivery patterns throughout the area.According to a news release issued late Tuesday afternoon by the Department of Public Works, the closure was prompted by “the deteriorated structural condition” of the abutment onthe Maryland side and evidence of decay in several piers.The bridge had been inspected last week by two engineering firms from Baltimore.“In accordance with national bridge inventory inspection standards, the structure was found to be suffering structural problems...which could result in collapse or settling in periods of high flow in the Potomac River,” the release stated.Public works officials saidMark Simons/Times-NewsA car crosses the low water bridge to Green Spring, W.Va. while other drivers wait theirturn at the toll booth in Oldtown Tuesdayevening. The bridge is being closed today.they did not know how much it would cost to repair the bridge, which is owned by Allegany County resident Frances Walters. They gave no indication as to whether the bridge will reopen.Contacted Tuesday night at her home on Warrior Mountainnear Oldtown, Walters strongly protested the county's move. She said the bridge is still strong and should remain open.“Somebody’s going to pay me for every day that bridge is closed,” she said defiantly.Walters blasted county officials for failing to inform her of the planned closing. She said she only learned about the moveafter being alerted by tenders at the bridge, who in turn had been informed by motorists questioning a newly-installed sign announcing the closing.“It's just as if I don’t exist, I guess,” she said.According to toll bridge workers, the bridge was built around 1937 by an M.R. Carpenter. Ms. Walters and her now-deceasedvehicular crossing of the river between Cumberland and Paw Paw. W.Va. and its closure will force motorists on both sides of the Potomac to take long, circuitous routes around the wateiy barrier.On Tuesday, crews from the Allegany County Department of Public Works and the West Vir-husband purchased the bridge about 25 years ago.The rickety, single-lane span links the two small communitiesof Oldtown and Green Spring, W.Va., situated only about a mile apart on either side of the Potomac.ginia Department of Highways will install barricades closingthe north and south approach roads.Warning signs will be placed along the routes alerting motorists to the closure.Countv officials said thebridge is inspected every twoThe bridge provides the only years.Commuters forced to use long alternate routesRICHARD KERNSTimes-News Staff WriterOLDTOWN — Oldtown resident Ronald Ravenscroft saw a commuting dream turn into a nightmare with the closure of the Oldtown toll bridge.An employee of Koppers Industries in Green Spring, just across the PotomacRiver from Oldtown, he travelled over the bridge every workday in a commute that lasted less than 10 minutes.by way of Wiley Ford, Fort Ashby and Springfield, W.Va.“I don’t like it very much at all,” Ravenscroft said. “I think the two states ought to get together and build a new bridge across there.”Now, unless he is willing to walk two or three miles to work and cross the bridge on foot, he must drive to Cumberland, cross the Potomac and work his way down to the plantThe swift decision to close the Oldtown toll bridge shocked nearby residents in both Maryland and West Virginia, forcing them to devise long alternative routes to carry them across the Potomac River.“It will add 15 to 20 minutes each way for me,” said Springfield, W.Va. resident Randv Messick, who works at Bayliner near Cumberland. “It’s going to be a pain in the neck is what it’s going to be.”The single-lane, wooden-deck span has linked Green Spring and Oldtown for more than 50 years. Fares were 50 cents one way for cars and pickup trucks and 20 cents for bikes. Between 300 and 400 cars passed over the bridge every day, toll workers said.For motorists in West Virginia, the oldspan provides a direct link to Maryland Route 51 and Cumberland about 10 minutes north of Oldtown. Without the bridge, they face a drive of 45 minutes or more.“There’s a great deal of people who work in Cumberland and live over here,” said Roger Twigg, owner of the Green SpringSee — Commuters 13A+IIII USuuVlt;Tecpit(CIND'Times-I'GR mont 453 t at th has i for n to ad Aug. Makitchlt;and 1lt; ble to iar wiopera labor bv Go He admirwithexplaimean:proce: over v union Goodv came the i never issues Witlpancyinclud indepi amid highly to theite coi of its faith.“Wlt;etnplc and n union addin belonHe had p ing tl contn officii:Acc cial Team and UagingScV
Newspaper Details
Cumberland Times News
Cumberland, Maryland, US
Wed, Aug 02, 1995
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