Comer Bridge preservation group nets grant for study

The Comer Bridge Foundation is trying to save the B.B. Comer Bridge in Scottsboro, Ala.
The Comer Bridge Foundation is trying to save the B.B. Comer Bridge in Scottsboro, Ala.

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Send donations to Comer Bridge Foundation, P.O. Box 609, Scottsboro, AL 35768-0609LEARN MORE To learn more about the effort to preserve the B.B. Comer Bridge and to find out the latest meeting dates and times, go to www.facebook.com/comerbridgefoundation or search Facebook for "CBF's Friends of the B.B. Comer Bridge."

Folks in Jackson County, Ala., who want to save the 1930s-era B.B. Comer Bridge over the Tennessee River at Scottsboro are working to raise funds for a study of the potential economic impact of a preserved span.

Preservation-minded residents are losing ground, but they say the study could demonstrate for the public and local governments that the bridge has potential as a self-supporting project.

The Comer Bridge Foundation, North Skunk River Greenbelt Association and its consulting arm, Workin' Bridges, were awarded a $5,000 grant in April by the National Trust for Historic Preservation for the economic impact study.

Now the foundation is working to raise $5,000 in matching funds to pay for the study to be done by Dr. Anthony Dixon of Troy University.

Comer Bridge Foundation president Charles Holderfield said foundation officials will meet with Dixon on June 1, and if time allows for a public meeting with Dixon, a time and date will be posted on the foundation's Facebook page.

Holderfield said the foundation already has raised about $1,500 of the $5,000 needed to match.

"The study will solidify [the association's and foundation's] commitment to saving, preserving and repurposing the bridge not only as a local asset but as a national treasure for everyone," Holderfield said.

Efforts to preserve the bridge near Scottsboro gained momentum after it was named to 2013's Top Rated Unique Savable Structures list, according to bridge hunter.com. James Baughn, author of the TRUSS list and the website, said the old span on Alabama Highway 35 between Section and Scottsboro is the last of its kind -- a cantilever through-truss design -- built in the state.

Julie Bowers, executive director of Workin' Bridges, the consulting arm of the greenbelt association, said the bridge has value to the community economically, aesthetically and could boost community health and spirit.

"The study will provide real numbers that support our plans to provide jobs, training and education in areas from hospitality, event management, security and maintenance in funding a bridge preservation," Bowers said.

A revenue stream is vital to preservation efforts, Bowers said. In the B.B. Comer Bridge's case, no public funds have been committed, so the community must back the cause with more than words.

Bowers blames the Alabama Department of Transportation for erecting the blocking requirement last year that a government entity be involved in the project. County and city governments were wary of linking with the project, and Scottsboro officials voted in February not to hear further discussions about preserving the bridge.

"We haven't given up but [the action] has undermined the effort considerably," Bowers said Thursday.

"We need to be clear on this point -- preservation and the resulting ownership of the bridge is based on good old-fashioned work, and we won't quit trying to make folks understand that this project is fiscally sound, it has addressed the risks with action," Bowers said.

"Until they hit the destruct button, we still need to try."

The old bridge is scheduled for demolition after the new Highway 35 bridge alongside is completed this fall.

Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or twitter.com/BenBenton or www.facebook.com/ben.benton1 or 423-757-6569.

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