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New Bluff Springs Road Bridge Opens, Replacing County’s Last Wooden Bridge
April 28, 2017
Work to replace the last all-wooden bridge in Escambia County is now complete. A two-lane concrete bridge is now open over Pritchett Mill Creek on Bluff Springs Road.
The modern structure replaced a one-lane wooden bridge that closed as structurally deficient last November. The Murphree Bridge Corporation completed the $710,702.04 project. The scope of work included clearing, grading, drainage, paving, signage and bridge construction.
There are no permanent residences located beyond bridge, but Escambia River and camping access via Bluff Springs Road were cut off during the construction.
Pictured above and below: A new concrete bridge over Pritchett Mill Creek on Bluff Springs Road is now open. The modern bridge replaced the last all-wooden bridge in Escambia County (pictured page bottom). NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Comments
8 Responses to “New Bluff Springs Road Bridge Opens, Replacing County’s Last Wooden Bridge”
Definitely an overkill on price and size….it looks like a bridge for a busy highway with two-lane traffic….hardly nessesary for this remote area…especially since decent family folk rarely get to enjoy it now, since the dopeheads, homeless, and drunks had took it over, leaving broken bottles and trash all over the place…we afraid for our lives to go there nowadays..and some were “extended camping” and even living there..we used to fish and swim there all the time with my kids, but afraid to nowadays with the grandbabies without a form of protection…the county shoulda made it more simple and put some of that money into improving the boat landing….and kill two birds with one expensive stone….dont mean to be unappreciative, but it is what it is…..
REGARDING:
“this one should not have to be as costly. just put in a triple culvert and cover it up.
of course I know anything that involves government can never be that simple.”
Agreed, gotta make it more complicated.
Suggestion: Put in multiple culverts as suggested then 6′ of clay on top of that and then pave the new near-dam. This should be higher than the at least twice a year flooding which covers parts of the road from half way down the first lake to the river.
David for backing water
now if they will fix the old concrete one further down the road. it is about to fall in.
this one should not have to be as costly. just put in a triple culvert and cover it up.
of course I know anything that involves government can never be that simple.
Just a little history lesson. The creek once was called Dunn’s Creek, named after George Dunn who used the creek to power a grits mill that was located just West of high 29. Then Oscar Tisdale purchased the mill and ran it for many years.
The bridge was named Steely’s bridge. According to what I have heard. Around the turn of the century, 117 ,years ago, people who lived near bridges would some times be paid to maintain the bridge. The Steelys lived on a farm just West of the bridge and were tasked with the job of maintaining the bridge, which is why all the residences at that time referred to the bridge as Steely’s bridge. all of those old timers are gone now but there was young boy who lived in Bluff Springs back then and remembers those days. He is 93 now and loves to talk about the old days when Bluff Springs was an incorporated town with its own Post office and Saw Mills. He often talks of walking from that creek early in the morning to a one room school house that was located where Pleasant Hill Baptist Church is today. Yep sad to see it go , the last relic of a bygone era.
Does that mean we can camp down there now?
I liked the old bridge
What a waste of money the bridge is 3 time the size it needed to be , I drove down there yesterday, could not believe a large bridge with only about a 10 foot Creek.?
Hate to see the old bridge go. Through the years I have spent many a day at that old bridge. No telling how many fish I caught there, not to mention the suckers that were gigged there. There was always something there to catch the attention of a 11 – 12 year old boy. After I was grown I thought the wife and kids would like to stop by and visit one of my old childhood relics. It was too “snakey” for them. Yeah I have killed a few snakes there but I never thought of it as snakey. Oh well I guess like everything else it’s time to let go of the old and embrace the new, well except for women. Mrs Jazzreel said I better not be embracing something new.