The historic span was damaged after a large truck went through it.
The Frederick County Office of Highway Operations says the Roddy Road Covered Bridge will be closed indefinitely. The historic span sustained significant damage last Thursday when an oversized truck ran through it.
“It’s called a king post bridge. You have six posts or vertical members that hold the bridge up. At least five of those six were severely damaged and will have to be replaced,” says Mike Ramsburg, Maintenance Supervisor with the Office of Highway Operations.
He also says the bridge’s portals were taken out, and the beams which run horizontal to the posts have been destroyed.
Ramsburg says repair work will need to be bid out to a contractor, and that process could take some time. While not wanting to give a hard and fast timetable, he acknowledged it could take several months or a year.
“Here at Highway Operations, our guys are used to going up there and making the minor repairs,” he says. “Unfortunately, this bridge gets hit quite frequently. It was just hit last month, May 18th. Fortunately, there was not much structural damage that time, and it was back open within a week and half. But this time it’s going to be much more extensive repair.”
Ramsburg says he couldn’t provide a cost estimate for any repairs.
But the other two covered bridges, Loys Station and Utica Mills, are in good shape. “The other two have more a clear span. They’re a little bit higher. And that’s actually that’s one that’s been discussed. Would the Historical Commission in Maryland who oversees these bridges allow us to raise the shell that covers the bridge, get it up a little bit higher to be more a clear span for vehicles to get through,” he says.
While the bridge is closed, motorists are encouraged to use the detour which goes from Roddy Road to Albert Staub Road to Eyler Road and then back to Roddy Road.