Historic bridge to get needed repairs

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Suwannee Democrat

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This 164th Street bridge, built in 1940 through a New Deal project, is getting an upgrade to save it from demolition. Engraved in stone at the entrance of the bridge are the words “WPA 3/1/40.” - Photo: Jeff Waters

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July 23, 2010

Jeff Waters Suwannee Democrat

Live Oak — By 1940, millions of people across the nation had been given jobs on public works projects through the Works Progress Administration, the largest of the New Deal agencies created by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt during the Great Depression.

One local WPA project, a bridge on 164th Street, is in jeopardy of deteriorating due to erosion of the limerock that makes up its top layer, according to the state Dept. of Transportation.

The bridge, constructed of stone in 1940, spans a mostly dry creek bed. The county’s public works director asked, and received, permission to advertise for bids for concrete and steel for repairs to the historical landmark.

“The historical walls on that road will be saved,” said PWD Jerry Sikes by phone Wednesday. “The problem you got is culverts washing out.”

Sikes said it will take about a month to begin work on the project, which will consist of pouring concrete over the top of the bridge to make it more stable and make the surface smoother.

“That’ll do the job,” said Sikes.

He said the project should cost about $40,000, which “is cheaper than having to rebuild a bridge. Plus, the history stays there.”

Sikes is a self-proclaimed history buff who said it would “be a shame to lose something of historical significance as this.”

Sikes said he was told by a homeowner near the bridge that stonemasons from Tennessee constructed the bridge.