Roddy Road Covered Bridge repair in the works

Danielle Ryan

(9/16) Several months after being damaged, The Roddy Road Covered Bridge will finally begin the journey to being repaired. The Frederick County Division of Public Works announced early last month that contractor Fitzgerald’s Heavy Timber Construction, Inc., will repair the Roddy Road Covered Bridge located near Thurmont.

The bridge sustained severe structural damage on June 16 when a box truck tried to squeeze through the small frame. Unfortunately, the truck wasn’t able to make it through and instead caused serious damage to the historic Thurmont bridge. Signs located on both sides of the bridge clearly warn drivers of the height limit, so whether or not the sign was misread or ignored is undetermined.

This accident was the second time in a month that a truck managed to damage the bridge, but the most recent occurrence caused the bridge to undergo the most damage. After an extensive assessment, engineers found that five of the six main support posts for the covered bridge structure were damaged by the truck.

Construction work is scheduled to start in mid-October and will last approximately four months. Work will include removing the covered bridge from its location so all damaged parts can be replaced. Once repaired, the bridge will be set back in its original location over Owens Creek.

The current detour route will remain in place during the road closure. The detour route will utilize Roddy Creek Road to Albert Staub Road to Eyler Road to Roddy Road. So all wishing to travel this way will be detoured accordingly.

The cost for repairs is being covered by insurance and restitution is being pursued against the responsible party. No cost will come to the town of Thurmont.

For additional information, contact Maintenance Section Supervisor Mike Ramsburg, Office of Highway Operations, at 301-600-1564 or via e-mail at mramsburg@FrederickCountyMD.gov, or Engineer Amanda Radcliffe, Office of Transportation Engineering, at 301-600-1959 or via e-mail at aradcliffe@FrederickCountyMD.gov.