By Holly Nine
As of Wednesday, September 28, at 5 p.m., the Camp Creek bridge was closed to all vehicular traffic. It is still open to pedestrians.
The bridge is 91 years old, and a replacement bridge has been planned for several years. The floods from June 23 brought waters up touching the bridge and the structureal support of the bridge sustained damage.
After several inspections were conducted, it was determined the bridge was unsafe for vehicle travel. Inspections will be done routinely every three months to make sure foot traffic is still safe.
Clay County Schools Superintendent Kenneth Tanner was contacted by this newspaper, and he explained that the school buses have not been crossing the Camp Creek bridge for about a year now due to the unsafe conditions of the bridge. The school bus that normally crossed the bridge now travels down to Queen Shoals and back up the river to pick up the kids in that area.
The closure of the bridge is especially difficult for those who live in the area, those traveling for work and those who have medical conditions. Emergency services will be dual responding, the fire departments (Lizemores and Clay) and the Lizemores ambulance will run the Camp Creek area.
A WVDOH representative said connstruction should start sometime in November of this year.