With any luck, the Vermillion Hills footbridge on Vermont Lane could be refurbished in the coming months. On August 28th, the Falls Supervisors unanimously authorized advertisement of the improvement project.
“This has been going on for a long time,” Supervisors Chairman Jeff Dence said of the highly anticipated project.
Township engineer Joseph Jones said he anticipates construction beginning by year’s end. A resident built the footbridge years ago in memory of Craig Doster, who had died of cancer.
Last year, Marta Grothman, a teacher at Manor Elementary, approached the township about potentially restoring the bridge and clearing the bushes, trees, and brush, as part of a school project.
Given the footbridge’s proximity to the creek and the possible danger associated with working on a streambank in need of stabilization, Jones said the project would require some engineering work and would be a better fit for improvements under the township’s Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System permit.
Keeping the community safe is of the utmost importance. The footbridge is located near another footbridge that Falls Township had replaced several years ago.
Upgrades to the pedestrian bridge, which is situated by the bottom of Viking Lane, include refurbishment of the footbridge, including reconstruction of the handrails, stripping, and repainting the bridge and upgrades to the footbridge approach.
In addition, stream bank stabilization and the addition of walking trails and entrance features leading to the stream are also part of the project, according to Jones. The improvements were expected to get underway earlier this year.
The delay in getting the project started, Jones said, was that he “underestimated the effort it would take for surveying” the half-acre of wooded terrain, multiple stream and ditch cross-sections, and upstream and down of the pedestrian bridge.
The project has been 90% designed, Jones said. The dedication plaque on this historic footbridge will be replaced in conjunction with other improvements, according to Jones.