Linking three centuries as much as it does the two banks of Big Walnut Creek, Houck Covered Bridge in Washington Township was recently the subject of a $1.7 million project to rehabilitate the 134-year-old bridge while building a new bypass bridge for vehicular traffic. Interested parties gathered for a ribbon cutting on Tuesday, with Putnam County Commissioners Max Watts, Don Walton and David Berry gathering to cut the ribbon on the covered bridge, which will now serve pedestrians as part of a historic preservation site and park. Also gathered for the celebration on a windy autumn morning were Dick Harvey of George R. Harvey and Son construction, County Auditor Lorie Hallett and Scott Dick, Bonnie Money and Becki Wise of USI Consultants Inc. New County Bridge 625 now passes over Big Walnut with an excellent view of the historic bridge just a few feet to the south. While modern in its engineering, the new bridge was designed with timber approaches and guard rails as well as stone replica form liners on the substructure to complement the existing bridge and rural landscape.
(Photos by JARED JERNAGAN)
With no worries of approaching vehicles, bridge enthusiasts and sightseers can now get an up-close look at the historic covered bridge (right), with its view of Big Walnut Creek, Bridge 625 and Boone-Hutcheson Cemetery to the northeast.
(Photos by JARED JERNAGAN)