Red Bridge project denied historical grant

The effort to save the Red Bridge hit a road bump after being denied an Emergency Historical Resource Development Program grant. Joe Otto, who is leading the cause, said the grant was denied due to additional paperwork needing to be completed.

“They reviewed it and rejected it because I didn’t have all of my ducks in a row in terms of paperwork and permitting,” Otto said. “This is a complex process with local government, state government, even federal government having to sign off on this.”

As a next step, Otto approached the Jasper County Board of Supervisors during its Tuesday meeting to be a part of a joint application for the Iowa Department of Resources and Army Corps of Engineers to start the process of being permitted to bring a crane to the bridge site for removal. The board gave unanimous approval, giving support to the efforts he is undertaking.

“I thought I could do that (get permits) after I applied for the grant, and it turns out I can’t do that,” Otto said. “Everybody has to sign off ahead of time.”

To clarify what the state historical societies reservations were, Otto read a portion of the rejection letter he received.

It said, “This is a valuable historical preservation project and resource but some additional steps need to be taken before we can fund the project. The main concern with this project is this bridge will be de-listed from the national register upon its removal from its piers, you should seek pre-approval from the National Park Service to avoid de-listing. The reviewers also wondered if you have conversations with the Army Corps of Engineers, DNR and other interested parties, if so, we would like to see letters of support from those parties.”

“This is simply to work on the permits he is needing to get,” county attorney Mike Jacobsen said.

By working in partnership with the county, who owns the bridge, Otto can now begin the process of having conversations with the suggested entities.

The overall goal for Red Bridge is to have the historic Jasper County landmark removed from its current location on the Skunk River and moved to Colfax where it would be featured as a walking path from downtown Colfax to Quarry Springs Park. Getting the bridge off of the river is phase one of three phases of the project.

The grant Otto is seeking, which could total up to $50,000, would be used to help fund phase one by removing Red Bridge from its piers with a crane and place it on the north bank of the river, in the right-of-way of Red Bridge Street.

“This is a pretty standard procedure, it is one of the first things we do when looking to construct a bridge,” county engineer Russ Stutt said.

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com