Grants Pass, Ore.- The historic Caveman Bridge will be under going renovations a week from today. it will be the first major face lift the bridge has seen since it was built nearly 90 years ago.
The historic bridge that connects downtown with the south side of Grants Pass was designed by Conde McCullough.
Oregon Department of Transportation is leading the renovations. According to ODOT’s Gary Leaming, they have been getting questions about when they would make renovations and fixes to the bridge for years. And Leaming says ODOT is aware of the toll that time has taken on the historic structure.
“We’ve got concrete that’s sprawling. We have re-bar that’s showing through. We have lots of cracks.”
The changes will cost $5.3 million. One of the biggest renovations will be to the rails. Contractors will cut the rails off. Then put back new rail which will look exactly like the old rail and it will meet modern safety standards.
Daytime work on Caveman Bridge will be minimal and all lane closures will only take place in the evening. Scheduling construction that way was a choice that ODOT intentionally made, with local businesses and the more than 19,000 cars that drive on Caveman Bridge a day in mind.
Renovations are set to be finished in February of 2019. ODOT says that the Caveman Bridge project is the biggest bridge project in South Western Oregon.
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