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1906 structure currently slated for removal

A group of concerned citizens met at Old Stone Fort State Park Wednesday, July 12 in an effort to try and save the historic 1906 Pratt truss bridge spanning the Little Duck River within the park.

The group was joined by State Rep. Rush Bricken, as well as Chuck Yoest, regional director of external affairs for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.

Originally moved to its current location from Franklin County in 1970, the bridge long served as the access to the park’s campground before it was deemed to be in critical condition by the Tennessee Department of Transportation and closed to vehicular traffic in 2020. The bridge was built by the Joliet Bridge and Iron Company of Illinois making it rare among Tennessee’s historic surviving bridges.

Steve Bouldin said during the meeting that rather than replace the historic bridge with a planned $5 million bridge to serve both pedestrian and vehicular traffic, the historic bridge should be repaired instead.

“If a man built it, a man can fix it and it is time for the state to do what the people want,” he said during the meeting.

Yoest, who attended the meeting as a representative of TDEC, said his goal was to listen to everyone’s concerns about the project and report those back to his superiors.

“If nothing else, when you walk away tonight, know that this is a good faith attempt by the Department of environment and Conservation which includes State parks to listen and understand how you feel, because that is a huge factor in our decision making moving forward,” Yoest said.

Yoest said the issue of whether or not the planned bridge replacement goes ahead as scheduled has been elevated to the Commissioner’s Office level.

“Where the project is, they are in the process of the final permitting to do the work and just this past week one of the bigger permitting hurdles was accomplished and now there are a few remaining less significant permits to achieve,” he said. “The timeline for the project for construction to begin, you are looking at about a year from now.”

Under the current plan, a portion of the historic bridge would be relocated to a trail within the park, but some are concerned about that plan.

Deb Morgan said during the meeting that she was told the bridge is to be relocated to what some believe to be a remnant of the old Dixie Highway constructed in 1915 within the park, but according to her research, the Dixie Highway did not directly pass through Manchester.

“Maps from the Library of Congress shows south of Manchester, it heads to Tullahoma and it heads to Shelbyville, so that slab of concrete out there is just being used as a rouse,” Morgan said. “You have to find a suitable historic and appropriate use when you are attempting to take down a designated historic structure and if you find that use and you move forward with it in an appropriate way then you can get permission to remove it otherwise you can’t.”

When the bridge was closed, a secondary access to the park’s campground was constructed on Country Club Drive, with homeowners being told it would only be a temporary solution.

“We had committed to the entrance on Country Club Lane being temporary and obviously wanted to honor that commitment, so therefore the current plan is for that to not be the campground entrance,” Yoest said.

State Rep. Bricken said he remembered when the bridge was closed, and a community meeting was held about three years ago to discuss the situation with those living on Country Club Drive.

“Almost everyone on Country Club all the way down attended that meeting and they were clearly opposed to that temporary access off Country Club and TDOT assured them that it was going to be temporary and that somewhat assurance kind of quieted their concern,” Bricken said.

Coffee County Register of Deeds Donna Toney said she resides on Country Club Drive, and she believes those living near the secondary campground entrance are no longer so opposed to the idea of it becoming permanent.

“We have got a big open entryway into the campground and it cost a lot of money I am sure, and all we have to do is come down and get a little more space into the park just for that turn-in,” she said. “Everyone I have talked to on Country Club is fine with this, they want to save the bridge. They don’t mind the traffic. There is more traffic but we don’t mind it.”

Bricken asked Yoest if there is any potential at all that modifications can be made to the bridge replacement plan, or if it is simply too late in the game.

“I think there has been this mindset that somehow because TDOT is involved there is no pivoting and that is not true,” Yoest said. “The primary department in this project is my department, TDEC, so if TDEC decides that this is not the best thing to do then we say to TDOT thank you so much for helping us get this far, but we are not going to continue.”

Yoest said he would be having a meeting with his superiors at TDEC to discuss the comments made during Wednesday’s meeting and the proposed alternatives to the plan suggested, such as leaving the historic bridge in its place for foot traffic and creating the temporary access on Country Club Drive permanent.

“Tomorrow the highest figures in State Parks and some others like myself are having a meeting where we are going to review the history of this project, history including stakeholder engagement, and then also we are going to talk about the concerns that have already been shared from before tonight, I will give a report from tonight and then at the deputy commissioner and commissioner level there will be discussions on where do we go from here to find a resolution to your concerns about the plan,” he said.

For more information about efforts to save the historic Old Stone Fort bridge, visit the Save Our Old Stone Fort Bridge Facebook page.