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Friend of the Little Miami State Park
Some good news from Ohio State Parks and Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).
ODNR, Division of Engineering, has hired American Structure Point to perform inspections of any span over 10 feet (bridges and culverts) along the 50 miles of the Little Miami State Park. The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) will continue to inspect any span over a major waterway or public roadway --- regardless of span.
The actual inspection phase will take place over the coming weeks with a final report due by June 30, 2010. When this report does become available, it will be posted on our web site www.flmsp.org.
At this point, based on previous less formal inspections, it's our belief that the Glady Run Bridge just north of Richland Road at mile marker 4.5 may emerge as the first priority. Earlier this year Ohio State Parks performed "temporary repairs" on this bridge because the bridge pilings were in imminent danger of collapse due to the severe scouring caused by Glady Run creek.
It's hoped that the inspections will find that these temporary repairs will suffice for an extended period. However, if these temporary repairs prove to be inadequate, more permanent repairs could take all (if not more) of the currently budgeted funds for this project --- leaving little if any funds for repairs to other bridges and culverts.
Actual work bids should be ready to let out next summer.
Since any repairs will be of a structural nature (e.g. bridges, collapsed culverts, etc), there will be some trail closures.
We'll use email and our web site to keep you informed.
Our thanks go out to Ohio State Parks and ODNR as they do the best they can within current budgetary constraints.
Sincerely,
Steve Murphy
Vice President
Little Miami State Park
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