Oak Grove bridge ceremony pleases residents.

Informational: A 75-year-old bridge in the Oak Grove community was destroyed last year due to a flood. Rebuilding the bridge had been a struggle for the community due to financial issues, but with help from governmental agencies the bridge was re-built and residents say they are very pleased.

Provocative: Rebuilding the 75-year-old bridge in Oak Grove may not have happened in such a short time without government help in financial aid because the costs of rebuilding the bridge were so expensive. Without the governments help, the rebuilding of the bridge would be a lot longer.

In Oak Grove County today, a ceremony was held for the re-opening of the 75-year-old bridge that went over Roaring Creek.

The bridge collapsed last year due to a flood. When the bridge went out, residents had to drive 9 more miles than usual.

Midville Mayor Seth Montana , U.S. Congressman Nancy Draughorn, and United States Senator Warren Johns all attended the ceremony.

Residents of Oak Grove County are pleased after waiting one year for the bridge to be re-built. The bridge has been re-opened for a couple of weeks.

The bridge was only about a mile away from Highway 19, a main route into Midville, where a lot of people in the Oak Grove community work.

Roland Lively,head of the County Department of Transportation, said the bridge was not in the best of shape when it was destroyed.

“Fortunately, some state and federal money was available, and we were able to do it a lot quicker than we had expected,” Lively said.

The Bridge is a 33-foot span over Roaring Creek along Roaring Creek Road. The total cost of repairing the Bridge was $700,000 dollars. The county could not afford these costs and received help from other governmental agencies:
Oak Grove County paid $100,000.
The state paid $200,000.
U.S. Department of Transportation funds paid $400,000.

“Having this bridge erected so quickly is a blessing,” Josh Spiva, an Oak Grove resident and attorney in Midville said.