There’s even more money allocated for the Bridgeport Covered Bridge restoration project. Doug Moon, with the Save Our Bridge Campaign, says $4.2 million was included in the final version of the state budget approved by the Legislature. The cost for the project had increased to $3.9 million and Moon says the extra funding allows for further contingencies…

click to listen to Doug Moon

Moon says the project is still on schedule, assuming permitting can be completed by the end of the year, with the goal to put it out to bid next spring and have construction begin next summer. He says they want to preserve the historical look of the bridge to as close as possible to when it first opened 155 years ago…

click to listen to Doug Moon

The bridge would still only be open for pedestrians and the occasional horse and wagon. It closed to vehicle traffic in 1972 and then to pedestrians in 2011, because of safety concerns. A $1.2 million stabilization project was recently completed, to allow restoration work to proceed. Moon hopes the bridge will re-open in 2019.