Lowell Covered Bridge, site to be touched up, expanded.

Byline: RANDI BJORNSTAD The Register-Guard

Nearing the end of her eight-year tenure as a Lane County Commissioner, Cindy Weeldreyer happily scratched another item off her "must do" list: Rehabilitating the Lowell Covered Bridge corridor off Highway 58.

"It's one of the first projects I got interested in when I became involved with county government," Weeldreyer said. "It's very important to Lowell and very important to the people of Lane County."

Plans for the covered bridge, which sits at the south end of the roadway that stretches across Dexter Lake between Highway 58 and Lowell, include major repairs to the structure as well as filling an area just to the north to create a small parking area; a terrace with restrooms, an information kiosk and photo exhibits; and a fishing platform.

Because of height and width restrictions, the World War II-era bridge hasn't been used since completion of a road next to it in 1979.

County commissioners voted last week to spend up to $500,000 in county road funds toward the project.

The money will be added to just under $1.8 million in federal grants earmarked for communities that have experienced severe economic losses from the decline of the timber industry, Lowell Mayor Warren Weathers said.

"This community has lost a lot of jobs because of shutting down of lots of national forest activities, and the covered bridge is an important part of our trying to bring more tourists into Lowell," Weathers said.

"We started our annual Blackberry Jam Festival to try to raise money to maintain the bridge and the entry into Lowell - unfortunately, so far we haven't raised a great deal of money, but we've got a great festival - so this project should really help us."

Before the board's vote, the county already had promises of just over $1 million in Forest Highway Enhancement funds and $700,000 in other federal grants administered through the Oregon Department of Transportation. But because that fell $500,000 short of the $2.25 million price tag - and because of restrictions on what each grant can be used for - it looked as if the project might not go forward.

For example, Public Works Director Ollie Snowden said, the federal forest money could go toward building an interpretive center next to the bridge, and the money available through ODOT could be used to rehabilitate the bridge. But county road money can't be used for either rehabilitation of the bridge or its long-term maintenance, because it no longer carries motor vehicle traffic.

"So, the only way we could use county funds to help finish this project would be to declare the parking lot and restrooms to be a highway rest area, and county road funds could be used toward that," Snowden said.

That would enable some of the federal funds to be diverted from the interpretive center to the bridge project, because it legitimately qualifies for historic preservation and bikeway funds that the grant can support, he said.

The only remaining hitch involved is who would be responsible in the future for maintenance of the bridge and the interpretive center, and Weathers said the citizens of Lowell would take on that responsibility.

"Our volunteers already have been taking care of the bridge for several years," Weathers said. "They removed the paving several years ago when water was trapped under it and was eating away at the wood. They have put out garbage cans and hauled garbage away and painted out graffiti."

With those assurances, and Snowden's promise to continue to seek additional grants that could lower the county's share of the project, the commissioners voted unanimously to give it the OK.

Work should begin in fiscal 2003-2004.

CAPTION(S):

WAYNE EASTBURN / The Register-Guard Fishermen try their luck Wednesday afternoon at Dexter Lake near the Lowell Covered Bridge. New plans for the area call for a fishing platform, a small parking area and a terrace with restrooms.