Rolling Stone Bridge now reopened

With structural repairs now complete, Rolling Stone Bridge has reopened to traffic.

Courtesy Putnam County Highway Department

BAINBRIDGE — With the structure now reinforced to the satisfaction of the Indiana Department of Transportation, Rolling Stone Covered Bridge in Floyd Township is now reopened to traffic.

The bridge on County Road 800 North 1.4 miles west of 500 East closed in May due to deterioration of structural beams.

While a longer-term solution, as well as new roofing to prevent future damage, is needed for the bridge, the repairs are enough for traffic to begin crossing the 108-year-old structure again, albeit with the weight limit reduced to three tons, down from five.

The reopening of Rolling Stone increases the number of covered bridges open to vehicular traffic in the county to five, with Pine Bluff, Baker’s Camp, Edna Collings and Dunbar also operational.

Of the remaining four, only Cornstalk Bridge in Franklin Township is likely to reopen anytime soon, as its problems are similar to that of Rolling Stone.

Oakalla Bridge and Dick Huffman Bridge are both in need of more significant overhauls and will remain closed for the foreseeable future.

Houck Covered Bridge, meanwhile, was restored and bypassed in 2014, though even it is in need of repairs to its roofing and siding.

It’s been a tough year for Putnam County’s nine covered bridges — not to mention other county bridges — as seven of the nine have been closed to traffic at some point.