Donald Boyd

Knox County Bridges (Images of America: Ohio) Donald Boyd

Knox County had its beginnings at the confluence of the waters of Center Run with the Kokosing River. This pictorial history of the spanning of area waterways is mostly a story of disasters. Many of the photographs are of the wreckage of failed bridges and what is left of the vehicles that brought them down. They depict a county highway department that was only reactive. The practice was to send the crews out to pick up the pieces and then figure out how to repair or replace the bridge. Changes began to occur with the Silver Bridge disaster in 1967 over the Ohio River, as the federal government instituted inspection of all public bridges at two-year intervals. With the information afforded through inspections and additional funding mechanisms, counties by the mid-1980s had the tools to be proactive toward bridge maintenance. A scheduled plan to inspect structures for repairs or replacement prior to failure began to occur. During this period, construction materials other than timber--stronger and longer-lasting materials--became the norm, thus saving lives.