I-Team follow-up: New bridge underway for neighborhood cut off by flooding

A rural, heavily wooded community near Peebles that is routinely cut off when its only bridge floods is finally getting a new bridge after 30 years of complaints.

Crews began work on the new bridge over Scioto Brush Creek a few weeks ago, after the WCPO 9 I-Team reported on the issue last May and brought concerns to Adams County Engineer Lee Pertuset.

Im really happy that we contacted you guys and Im really happy that we finally got some movement from the county to do what they should have been doing all along, said resident Jim Daniel. This is the only way in and out of this valley. You cant get out any other way. They cant even land a helicopter back here if somebody is in a medical emergency.

The low-water bridge is the only way to reach the homes of 15 to 20 residents, who live on Coffee Hollow and Saylor roads bordering the Brush Creek State Forest in Franklin Township. It floods up to 20 times a year.

Watch: Finally above water

Basically, it floods anywhere from five to 20 times a year, Julia Reno, who lives up the hill from the bridge, told the I-Team in May. We usually dont find out that its flooded until we try to get out in the morning.

When there is rain in the forecast, Reno said she packs an overnight bag to spend the night with a friend after work in case she cant get home.

Its a pain in the neck. Ive slept on the other side many nights, Bob Shattuck said. I would say in a years time I stayed over there four, five times. Other than you showing up and causing it, I dont think it would have ever gotten done.

Shattuck has lived in the neighborhood for 30 years and repeatedly asked local public officials to replace the bridge.

During a flood years ago, an ambulance could not reach a resident who suffered a heart attack because the bridge was underwater. His son was forced to drive through floodwaters to get him and transport him to the hospital, Reno said.

The delay in treatment caused severe and permanent heart damage that ultimately contributed to his early death, Reno said. During another flooding event, storms knocked down trees and power lines. Utility crews could not cross the flooded bridge to restore power, leaving one resident who depends on a breathing machine relying solely on a backup generator.

The low bridge is a log jam for large tree limbs and branches carried by the fast-moving creek when it floods.

I carry chainsaws with me wherever I go because when the water goes down, you still cant get out because of all the logs," Daniel said. "Theres been wood stacked on that side of the bridge 10 feet tall, above the deck, and then it washes over the deck.

The WCPO 9 I-Team brought these concerns to Adams County Engineer Lee Pertuset on May 21 and asked him why the bridge hasnt been replaced yet.

It is a very difficult bridge for us to deal with. Structurally, its sound, and so that disqualifies it from us receiving grant money for it, Pertuset said. So, anything that we do has to be our own funds, which are limited for the most part.

His office oversees 254 bridges in Adams County, and we always have bridges that are in need of replacement, that are structurally deficient or potentially failing.

"Its a very difficult bridge for us because 98 percent of the time it is an adequate structure for people to cross, maybe more like 99 percent of the time, Pertuset said. Not only that, but the project itself is difficult. It is a township road, so were dealing with less right-of-way than on a county road. So, to obtain right-of-way, we had to do a survey and then we had to submit it to the landowner, which is a worldwide global corporation.

After hearing complaints a few years ago, Pertuset said his office decided to set aside the $200,000 for a new bridge at Coffee Hollow Road.

The engineers office resumed the Coffee Hollow Bridge project this spring and submitted a right-of-way sheet for the landowner to review, but it took several months to get approval.

The project has started.  We have cleared some brush for the new road and have started digging footers for the abutments.  We hope to be pouring the concrete abutments within the next couple of weeks.  After the concrete has cured, we will be setting the superstructure including the beams, deck, and guardrail.  The bridge is on track to be finished and open before spring, Pertuset wrote in an email last week.

The new bridge will be 8 feet higher than the current one. Once finished, the original bridge and debris will be removed.

"When I see it completed, I will be happy," Shattuck said.