Restoration Work On Burnside Bridge Could Start In Summer
SHARPSBURG, Md. (AP) -- Work to restore one of the most well-known bridges from the Civil War and a popular tourist attraction could begin as early as this summer, giving Burnside Bridge its first major restoration work since the 1950s.
Antietam National Battlefield officials are planning to repair long-term damage caused to the bridge by water and general wear and tear, battlefield Superintendent Susan Trail said.
The work, which is expected to cost from $1 million to $1.5 million, could begin as early as this summer, depending on whether the design, contracts and funding are ready, Trail said.
The park has received a $100,000 grant from the Maryland Heritage Area Authority, but most of the project will be paid for with National Park Service project funding, for which national parks compete, Trail said.
When a small exterior section of the stone bridge fell into the Antietam Creek in January 2014 during a period of frigid temperatures, it served as a "wake-up call" to take a good look at the bridge's condition, Trail said.
That section was rebuilt last summer for about $70,000, but the collapse made park officials realize the bridge probably had "serious structural issues," she said.
An engineering firm examined the bridge last fall, confirming the upper walls had deteriorated and discovering the piers also need to be repaired, Trail said.
During both stages of work, the bridge will be closed to pedestrian traffic as a safety precaution but will be reopened in between the two construction phases, Trail said.
Trail said the bridge and Bloody Lane are two of the most well-known features of the battlefield, which gets more than 300,000 visitors a year.
The first stage of the work involves erecting a cofferdam, or a temporary enclosure, in the creek to divert water, so workers can repair the piers, moving the cofferdam for each pier, Trail said.
There are voids in the stone pier that need to be filled with grout, she said.
The second part of the restoration, which might be done in the spring of 2016, will focus on the upper portion of the bridge, Trail said.
Sections of the stone wall will be dismantled to repair deterioration between the interior and exterior stone walls, Trail said. The bridge's walls look wavy and have bulges in areas due to water damage and the exterior wall pulling away, she said.
The bridge's roadbed will be rebuilt so water flows off the bridge rather than into the stone sides of the bridge, which causes long-term water damage, she said. The wooden coping atop the bridge's walls also will be replaced.
The bridge, built in the 1830s, was known as the Rohrbach Bridge before the war, for the family that owned the adjoining farm, she said.
While various structural work has been done to the bridge over the years, most of that work isn't visibly obvious except for the coping that was replaced, Trail said.
During the Sept. 17, 1862, Battle of Antietam, 500 Confederate sharpshooters held off the advance of 10,000 Union soldiers for three hours as waves of those soldiers repeatedly tried to take control of the bridge.
Also referred to as the Lower Bridge, the bridge became known as the Burnside Bridge for Union Gen. Ambrose Burnside who led the Union attack that eventually took control of the creek crossing.
Information from: The Herald-Mail of Hagerstown, Md.
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