Editor’s Note: This story has been corrected and updated to reflect that the abutments of the old Hayden Bridge were not the only part of the old Hayden Bridge that were recycled.
The tragic collapse of the Silver Bridge near Point Pleasant, West Virginia, in 1967 that killed 46 people prompted state officials to investigate the condition of thousands of aging bridges under local jurisdiction across Ohio. A resulting 1974 report from the Consulting Engineers of Ohio identified nearly 6,000 bridges in need of replacement due to structural deficiencies or obsolescence, including 15 in Franklin County.
In the report, the Hayden Run Road Bridge across the Scioto River was determined to be the county’s highest priority for replacement.
The original Hayden Run Road Bridge was constructed in 1904 by the Indiana Bridge Company. It was a steel truss construction with three spans and stone abutments traversing a 580-foot-wide section of the Scioto River. Built for roughly $100,000 raised by a county levy, the bridge quickly became a major east-west connector between county roads in Norwich and Perry Townships.
Previously, nearby residents had resorted to a treacherous ford across the Scioto River at a point just north of Hayden Run with the help of an island mid-stream. The city of Columbus’ infrastructure was rapidly developing: the Fishinger Road Bridge to the south was completed the same year, and the Griggs Dam south of that on the river would be built in 1905.
By 1976, the Hayden Run Road Bridge was used by as many as 5,000 vehicles a day. But the bridge’s narrow two-lane breadth and aging bearings strained beneath the demands of modern vehicle traffic. Engineers identified heavy corrosion of the bridge’s structural steel and imposed significant load limits in 1975. In spite of its condition, it would take several more years for its planned successor to be budgeted.
Hayden Run Road Bridge’s location outside of Columbus city limits meant that the county was solely responsible for any matching funds for federal grants. While the process of finding funding for the bridge project played out, cost estimates increased and the county Engineer’s Office settled for implementing intermittent repairs.
Federal and local funding for the estimated $4 million replacement was secured in late 1980, and Kokosing Construction Company was selected as general contractor in 1983. The project included a wider four-lane span with a sidewalk on one side made of concrete and steel. There was also heavy road work involved with the approaches on either side, including the creation of a Hayden Road extension to the bridge’s new eastern terminus.
News of another tragic bridge failure, the June 28, 1983, collapse of a section of the Mianus River Bridge on Interstate 95 in Greenwich, Connecticut, which killed three and seriously injured three others, led the Franklin County Engineer’s Office to implement newly designed pot bearings into the construction of the new Hayden Run Road, improving its safety at additional cost and delays.
The new positioning of the replacement Hayden Run Road Bridge, roughly 200 feet south along the east bank of the Scioto River, meant that the old bridge could remain in use during construction.
The new Hayden Run Road Bridge opened to traffic on July 11, 1984, with its predecessor still standing a short distance away.
Demolition of the old bridge took place in sections over the next several weeks. The old stone abutments were moved underwater to form an artificial reef and fish habitat in the Griggs Reservoir.
Decorative metal trim on the top of the east and west ends of the bridge was repurposed as decorative fencing by the Washington Township Board of Trustees to beautify Sandy Corners Cemetery on Rings Road, according to Tim Spring, an attorney and former township administrator.
Eugene Rutigliano is a Librarian with the Local History & Genealogy Department at the Columbus Metropolitan Library.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Fatal W.Va. collapse helped lead to replacement of original Hayden Run Bridge
Reporting by Eugene Rutigliano, Special to The Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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By Eugene Rutigliano, Special to The Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
