Crossing Over

Saturday, October 19, 2013
Surrounded by equipment and supports for the new bridge set to bypass the old crossing, Houck Covered Bridge still stands above Big Walnut Creek. With the annual Covered Bridge Festival ongoing in nearby Parke County, Putnam County has a proud covered bridge tradition of its own, with nine still spanning the streams of Putnam County. The construction around Houck will build a modern bridge just north of the old crossing, removing the one-lane crossing and the 90-degree turn between county roads 550 South and 500 West that lies just to the west of the covered bridge. Upon completion, the old bridge will remain in place as a walking bridge.

Comments
View 4 comments
Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. Please note that those who post comments on this website may do so using a screen name, which may or may not reflect a website user's actual name. Readers should be careful not to assign comments to real people who may have names similar to screen names. Refrain from obscenity in your comments, and to keep discussions civil, don't say anything in a way your grandmother would be ashamed to read.
  • SAD!!

    -- Posted by dumpsterdiva2 on Sat, Oct 19, 2013, at 5:51 AM
  • I'm NOT in favor of making bypasses around our beautiful covered bridges. A new bridge so close will detract from the ambiance and history of our county that these bridges provide. In other words, it will "junk it up". Surely there was a way to improve upon the covered bridge to make it usable still. :(

    -- Posted by Lindy62 on Sat, Oct 19, 2013, at 8:21 AM
  • Finally a bridge that emergency vehicles can cross and save valuable minutes by not driving around! If the caller couldn't provide which side of the bridge the incident was on, responders had to guess. This takes the guess work out and insures faster care to those in need.

    -- Posted by voiceofreason2 on Sat, Oct 19, 2013, at 8:25 AM
  • It is wonderful for area residents and all of us (almost all us drive out to look at Putnam County's historical treasures from time to time, I'll bet, and accidents can happen) that emergency responders will no longer be delayed or rerouted due to the new bridge. But I agree the construction has damaged the beauty of the area surround the covered bridge--the loss of trees is particularly devastating. I hope the monies for this project include landscaping with a bit more mature trees and shrubs--after all, our covered bridges do bring commercial benefits to our county.

    -- Posted by basilrosemary on Mon, Nov 4, 2013, at 11:17 AM
Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: