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61 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, April 28, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend July 10, 2003 Signs warn residents to stay clear of the area where the Wimer covered bridge collapsed into Evans Creek. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Feds may help rebuild bridge U.S. Department of Transportation had set aside $660,000 for renovation in Wimer By DAMIAN MANN Mail Tribune WIMER — Hopes of rebuilding the covered bridge that collapsed and injured three people Sunday got a boost from the federal government this week. Bruce Johnson, Oregon Division bridge engineer for the U.S. Department of Transportation, said that about $660,000 is available for the reconstruction effort. The money — minus at least $56,000 for engineering costs so far — had been earmarked for bridge renovation in 2002, and Jackson County officials worried that it might not be available for rebuilding. "It would be under the condition that they make a covered bridge out of timber," Johnson said. Advertisement However, the money wouldn’t be enough to pay for all the reconstruction costs, he said. The replacement amount hasn’t been determined yet, he added. "A lot of folks are studying that right now," he said. The three injured in the collapse are recovering. Billy "Mickey" Haynes, 56, has been taken out of intensive care after suffering head trauma. He said Wednesday that he was undergoing lung therapy at Providence Medford Medical Center. "I’m very sore, but very fortunate," said Haynes, who was still groggy and weak from the ordeal. Haynes’ grandsons, 5-year-old twins Cleo and Mickey Harvey, suffered broken bones and abrasions. They have been treated and released. The boys and their grandfather had just bought ice cream at the Wimer Market on Sunday afternoon and were walking across the bridge when it collapsed. Local residents heard their cries and rushed through a tangle of timbers and pulled them from the wreckage. County officials have hired ACP Investigations Inc. to determine what locals know about the bridge’s collapse, particularly whether any overweight vehicles had compromised its structural integrity. Wimer resident Lee Davis, a security guard for EBM Security, which is watching the bridge for the county, said he has heard a lot of rumors that people drove over it with hay trucks or other heavy vehicles. Davis has had to shoo away some residents trying to take a piece of the bridge. One of them received a citation Sunday from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department. Davis has watched some residents ignore the warning signs and race down the embankment to grab lumber or shingles, endangering themselves. "They do some stupid things," he said. In a preliminary investigation by Jackson County, the bridge likely failed because the upper beam in the so-called "nested queen post truss" had developed a bow. The beam was made of a number of thin planks bolted together. It is also this particular truss that sets the Wimer Bridge apart from other covered bridges in Oregon. "It is the only one of its kind," said Johnson, while noting that there are four other queen post covered bridges in Oregon, but they don’t have the "nested" design. The trusses are an integral part of the structural integrity of the bridge, both supporting the structure and the weight carried on it. Johnson allayed county officials’ concerns that they might have to rebuild the structure using heavy timbers that are difficult to find. Another historic Oregon bridge, in Cascadia State Park east of Sweet Home, was reconstructed using glue-laminated beams — essentially thin pieces of wood glued together — that were rough sawn to simulate old beams, he said. Dusty Nolan, owner of the Wimer Market, has gathered more than 100 names of local residents who want the bridge rebuilt. "Get the covered bridge back that is Wimer," urged Nolan. "The old people are really busted up — it’s their whole lives." Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Free Music Downloads Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg Distance Education Diamonds Online Poker Slippers Student Loans Tatoo tcg student loan consolidation teleconferencing Website Design & Marketing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Tatoos Advertisement s