Weisenberger Mill bridge ready for bids, except for construction easements, held up by lingering issues

Last June, weeds grew in the road near the bridge, which at that time had been closed for nearly two years. (Sarah Ladd photo)

This story, originally published April 1, has been updated.

By Kristi Fitzgerald

University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet wants to advertise the new Weisenberger Mill Bridge for bids this week, but lack of temporary easements for construction could delay the project.

The bridge was among the projects in the cabinet’s April 26 bid letting, with a tentative advertisement date of Saturday, April 6, and a deadline of April 3 to be in the ad. Negotiations for the final two construction easements continue, according to Natasha Lacy, a public information officer at the cabinet’s District 7 office in Lexington.

Lacy said the project has been moved to a May 24 bid letting, with a tentative advertisement date of May 3. If the easements are not purchased three weeks prior to the letting date, the project will be moved to August.

That would push completion of the new bridge until 2020. Construction is estimated to begin about one month after the bid letting and to be completed six to nine months after construction begins, Lacy said. Two of the four construction easements have been purchased, she said.

The holdouts are Mac and Sally Weisenberger, owner of the historic mill for which the bridge is named, and Bryan and Julie Pryor, who live in a recently built home catercorner across South Elkhorn Creek from the bridge. Both couples have issues with the state that go beyond its need for the easements.

Bryan Pryor said at a public hearing in August that he is obligated by a historic easement to preserve the wall surrounding his property, made partly of worn-out millstones from the mill. He said this week that the easement extends his property line to the middle of the road.

The rock wall on the Pryors' lot uses worn millstones from the mill.

At some places, the wall is within inches of the pavement.  It was damaged a few years ago by one of the many tractor-trailers that have been guided to the bridge when their drivers seek shortcuts without regard to the bridge’s weight limit or the limited capacity of the roads leading to the bridge.

The Pryors said they need to be cautious about public statements because their situation is more complicated than it appears.

“We are not prepared to have construction right-of-way discussions with the state until protective solutions for the wall and issues concerning the usage easement across our property, to the bridge, are resolved with Woodford County,” they said in an email. “The state Transportation Cabinet has repeatedly said the project is from bridge end to bridge end, and that approachways were not part of the project.  Conversations with Woodford County are still in process but not concluded.”

Woodford County Magistrate Liles Taylor, who represents the Midway area, said he and County Judge-Executive James Kay and County Attorney Alan George are not only trying to work out those issues, but find an overall solution that will get the bridge built as soon as possible.

Mill owner Mac Weisenberger declined to comment other than to say, “I am hopeful that the bridge will be completed this year.”

Weisenberger has voiced concern that plans for the new bridge call for its opening to be two feet narrower than the current one, raising fears that his mill would be in greater danger of water damage when the creek is in flood. When he raised that concern with Project Manager Casey Smith last June, Smith said state engineers looked at that, and “They did not see a significant rise out of it.”

Weisenberger then wrote the state, “Where is the proof this won’t cause additional flooding? We haven’t see any report. We will wait until you present us with a No Rise Certification and proof that vibration won’t cause ANY damage now or in the future to the Mill building, equipment, machinery, employees and/or dam. Do you really think we, Weisenberger Mill, will just sit back and not demand reasonable answers?” In capital letters, he added, “We have a business to protect!”

Weisenberger also wrote, “We have been frustrated beyond belief throughout this project. . . . Everyone who utilizes the bridge is totally frustrated with the delays of this project.”

The replacement of the bridge has been a topic of concern for about six years and even more so since its closing on July 1, 2016. The bridge was built around 1930 and was closed due to its old and unsafe steel infrastructure, damaged by trucks crossing while exceeding the weight limit.

The bridge is on a county road, but the state is doing the project in return for Woodford County doing a bridge project in Millville several years ago. The creek is the Scott-Woodford county line; under an agreement with Scott County, Woodford is responsible for maintaining the bridge.

The process of replacing the one-lane bridge has undergone several changes drew the attention of and surrounding residents.  The state’s first plan was for a two-lane bridge, but changed that to one lane after the public voiced concerns that would detract from the scenic, historical site and cause accidents in the sharp curve on the Woodford County side of Weisenberger Mill Road.

The design of the bridge, and the delay in replacing it, have sparked much debate. Since the bridge has historical significance and would be replaced by the state, the project had to undergo review by the State Historic Preservation Office and the Kentucky Heritage Council, as well as an environmental impact report to federal officials, all of which have pushed back construction.

Mapquest map, adapted, shows how the bridge closure has isolated Zion Hill.

Last year, state officials said they expected construction in 2020, but said there was a chance it could be done in 2019.

“I’m thrilled that we are this much closer to getting this project started and hopefully completed this year — three years after the bridge was closed,” Taylor said.

“With recent flooding on Browns Mill Road, the isolation of area residents is more clear than ever,” Taylor said. “Completion of this project is first and foremost vital for public safety, impacting emergency response times and access on both sides of the bridge.”

Browns Mill Road, Old Frankfort Pike and Paynes Depot Road have been used as alternate routes to access Zion Hill, a largely African American community, since the bridge was closed.

Isaac Hughes, a Zion Hill resident, expressed his concerns about the possible delay of the project, saying that he is “worried that the easements for the right of way will hold things up even further.”