1953-54 - Big Sandy Bridge Collapses Twice
There are a lot of things that we in Paintsville and Johnson County take for granted. Among these are the bridges which span Paint Creek and the Big Sandy River. We travel them each day and think nothing of the concrete and steel which keep us from falling into one stream or the other. The bridges are there; they have been there for decades; and they will certainly continue for many more decades. Right? Well, hopefully so but maybe not!
Paintsville did not gets its first vehicle bridge until 1905. This was the old iron bridge connecting Grabnickle (now Euclid Avenue) and Bridgeford (or Bridge Street). Two other bridges came later... the College Street bridge to Stafford Addition and the Route 40 bridge across the Big Sandy at Greentown.
In late 1952, the state highway department agreed that the old highway bridge at Greentown was in great need of repair. The flooring of the bridge was wearing away. Posing a threat to those who had to travel it daily. It was access Paintsville had to a growing section of the county. Schools and businesses alike depended on this bridge, as did the residents of Williamsport, Meally, Thelma and King Addition.
District Highway Engineer J. P. Noonan announced in March of 1953 that the bridge would be closed on April 1 for repairs that should take no longer than three months. Meanwhile, he announced, traffic would be rerouted through Davis Branch and West Van Lear. Local businessmen and area residents objected, however, to a complete closing of the bridge.
Such a long diversion would impede business and place an unnecessary burden on parents and the school system, the community argued.
Finally, State Highway Commissioner Curlin overruled Engineer Noonan and announced that one-way traffic would be permitted while construction was underway. With that, workers began their tasks and traffic, while moving more slowly on one side of the bridge, was allowed to continue.
But the old bridge was weaker than most people realized.
On April 8, 1953, within days of the beginning of repair work, a tractor-trailer rig hauling a bulldozer waited patiently in the line of traffic and then slowly began moving across the steel structured bridge.
With creaks and groans from the bridge accompanying its movements, the truck eased its way onto the center span directly over the middle of the Big Sandy River. All at once, with the sound of twisting metal and the terrified screams of those watching, the bridge collapsed, sending the truck, its driver and cargo into the river below.
The driver, and the bridge, were doomed.
Once the tragedy had swept through the community and the mourning had subsided, a new plan for rebuilding the bridge was developed. However, by this time all traffic had to be rerouted away from the construction. Instead of the three month delay initially contemplated, it was early January, 1954, before the end of repairs were in sight.
There were only three or four days work remaining when the workers left their jobs on Friday, January 15. The next week would see the new bridge completed and traffic restored.
Mother Nature, however, had her own timetable.
During the weekend of January 16 and 17, 1954, following a week of freezing temperatures, heavy rains caused the water along the Big Sandy to rise. Huge chunks of ice and debris began flowing down the river.
The weight of the ice and debris caught in the swift current of the river's high water were too much for the not-quite-complete Greentown bridge.
On Sunday, January 17, the bridge collapsed again. This time, thankfully, no one was injured.
It would be another three months before an army "Bailey" bridge could be erected and traffic could flow once again across the Big Sandy.
At 4:30 P. M., April 19, 1954, Miss Helen Martin Wheeler and Mrs. Warren Auxier rode in the first car to cross the Big Sandy at Greentown in more than a year.
