CENTER TWP — While officials look for grants to cover the cost of replacing the bridge on Pinehurst Road, supervisors put in place a temporary solution.

The board voted unanimously at its meeting Wednesday, Aug. 13, to ratify a grant application for a permanent bridge replacement and to ratify the purchase of a temporary logging bridge to be placed in its stead.

Supervisor Don Pringle said the reason for the bridge’s closure was safety concerns shared by the supervisors.

“It’s a wooden bridge, and we’ve been having issues with it for a few years,” Pringle said. “Our engineer checked it out and said it’s OK, but we take public safety seriously and are trying to be proactive.”

Pringle said the cost of the project was estimated to be “over half a million dollars,” which spurred Supervisor Phil Wulff to look for a temporary solution. After some review, he purchased a logging bridge for around $35,000.

Wulff said that despite the logging bridge being viewed as a temporary solution, it could be installed as the permanent replacement.

“Looking ahead at grants, we probably won’t hear back from anyone until the end of the year, and if we get anything then the project itself will probably take some time, so we’re possibly looking at a year and a half or two years out here,” he said.

Pringle added the logging bridge has a weight capacity of 80,000 pounds, and is therefore rated for fully-loaded tractor-trailer.

After Wulff informed board members that they are able to choose the color of the bridge for free, they voted unanimously to paint it dark green out of respect for the road’s name.