Tribune editorial staff

After nearly four years of being inconvenienced, Ironton residents who have loved ones buried in Woodland Cemetery are breathing a collective sigh of relief.

Last week, the Ohio Department of Transportation District 9 announced the Woodland Cemetery Bridge project should be completed within the next few weeks, weather permitting. Since June 1999, Ironton residents have had to use the Coal Grove entrance to the cemetery. While this was certainly a hassle to some, the new bridge will be worth the wait.

ODOT made the decision to replace the bridge because the aging, weakened structure could no longer withstand the weight of vehicles until the repairs could be made.

At the time of the closure, engineers said that structural deterioration beneath the bridge's surface has weakened it considerably. In some places, rusted metal has fallen away, leaving holes in major support beams.

The bridge was built in 1908, and was designed to last 60 years. It was rehabilitated in 1978, but the cemetery handles 300 funerals a year, so thousands of cars passed over since then.

The cash-strapped city had to use Issue Two funds to match ODOT's 80-percent funding of constructing the bridge. State funding through ODOT did not become available until early 2002.

While ODOT, the city and the cemetery were criticized by some for the amount of time the bridge was closed, we feel they did the best they could, considering. The bridge could not have been built on credit. The money was not available, so everyone involved had to wait until the funds were secured.

While using the Coal Grove entrance was inconvenient to some, at least folks had an alternate route to get to the graves of their loved ones. Soon, they will be able to resume entering the cemetery from Ironton, with a new, safer structure.

Let's just hope the weather cooperates so that the bridge can be open prior to Memorial Day.