Pedestrian Bridge

East Antietam Street between Cannon Avenue and King Street in Hagerstown is closed so a pedestrian bridge connecting the former Washington County Hospital complex to Pangborn Hall can be demolished, according to the Hagerstown city website. Demolition of the bridge is in the first phase of the hospital demolition process, according to a published report in March. That phase involves demolishing the bridge and the newer additions to the hospital along King Street. Brandenburg Industrial was awarded the contract by Meritus Health to demolish the hospital, and they applied for a demolition permit from the city of Hagerstown in early March.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. ? Just after 10 a.m. Saturday, the much-anticipated pedestrian bridge was gently lifted to its final destination between the Caperton Train Station and the Martinsburg Roundhouse Center. But a short time later, the huge structure was returned to the ground until a minor adjustment could be made for a secure connection. "It didn't quite fit," said Vaughn Neill, an employee of DMJM Harris, an engineering consulting firm working with CRX on the bridge installation.

Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park will begin a construction project on the Bollman Bridge in Williamsport in late September, according to a press release from C&O Canal officials. During construction, traffic will be routed to a temporary bridge. Visitors on the towpath are asked to obey all warning signs and barricades. Work will include replacing existing timber beams with steel beams. The bridge will be cleaned and painted, and the pedestrian bridge will be replaced.

martinsburg@herald-mail.com MARTINSBURG, W.VA. - Bricks, steel and more than $1.16 million. That's what it's going to take to link the Roundhouse Center to the city of Martinsburg. A plan to build an enclosed pedestrian bridge means visitors who want to see the Roundhouse no longer will have to meander along residential streets to get there. They will not have to ride a trolley that runs only during special events. The pedestrian bridge will start on a tower connected to the end of Caperton Train Station and will be elevated above CSX-owned railroad tracks that are used by freight and passenger trains.

With a dam rehabilitation project at Devil's Backbone Park wrapping up under budget, Washington County officials agreed Tuesday to use surplus funds from the project to improve access to the area of the park on the east side of Antietam Creek. Devil's Backbone Park is on Md. 68 between Lappans Crossroads and Boonsboro. The Washington County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to spend up to $125,000 to replace the erosion-prone gravel path along the east bank of the creek with a handicapped-accessible concrete path with a handrail.

martinsburg@herald-mail.com MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - After a string of delays caused by lawsuits and other problems with the state's Economic Development Grant Committee, grant money is finally available, state officials said Tuesday. Another hindrance, however, will cause construction on a new terminal at Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport to be delayed for about a month. New building codes implemented for this part of the country require that public buildings be adequately prepared for possible seismic activity, said Rick Wachtel, chairman of the Airport Authority.

charlestown@herald-mail.com MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Details of a pedestrian bridge linking the B&O Roundhouse with Caperton Train Station - considered a key project in the future growth of downtown Martinsburg - were released in an afternoon meeting of city officials Monday. The bridge, which will allow pedestrians to cross railroad tracks near the station and reach the Roundhouse property, will cost between $700,000 and $800,000 to construct, said Matthew Grove of Grove & Dall'olio Architects, which is designing the building.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Leaders of the group formed to restore the historic B&O Roundhouse property for reuse in Martinsburg did not get a financial commitment they wanted from city leaders who cited other pressing needs in the growing community. Though awarded about $8 million in grants for building capital improvements and a pedestrian bridge to the former railroad's maintenance shop, Berkeley County Roundhouse Authority chairman Clarence E. "CEM" Martin told a city council committee Wednesday that the authority's volunteer board was "struggling to keep the doors open" and requested $50,000 for operations and maintenance.

MARTINSBURG, W.VA. - The pedestrian bridge for the historic B&O roundhouse and shop complex in Martinsburg will not be open to people with disabilities who come for this weekend's Rail Days celebration, organizers said. "We don't have an elevator in (the new tower) yet, but the stairs will be available," said Rosetta Chiofalo, executive director of the Berkeley County Roundhouse Authority. "They kept promising (the bridge would be fully accessible) till last week. " The bridge provides access from the Caperton Train Center to the roundhouse center.

andrews@herald-mail.com The National Park Service's C&O Canal National Historical Park will fix up the Salisbury Street Bridge in 2005, Park Service officials told the Williamsport Town Council on Monday. Responding to a question from resident James T. Jewell, Mike Seibert, the Park Service's preservation project manager at C&O Canal National Historical Park, said the work will cost more than $500,000. Seibert said he couldn't be more specific because contractors will bid for the work.

With a dam rehabilitation project at Devil's Backbone Park wrapping up under budget, Washington County officials agreed Tuesday to use surplus funds from the project to improve access to the area of the park on the east side of Antietam Creek. Devil's Backbone Park is on Md. 68 between Lappans Crossroads and Boonsboro. The Washington County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to spend up to $125,000 to replace the erosion-prone gravel path along the east bank of the creek with a handicapped-accessible concrete path with a handrail.

East Antietam Street between Cannon Avenue and King Street in Hagerstown is closed so a pedestrian bridge connecting the former Washington County Hospital complex to Pangborn Hall can be demolished, according to the Hagerstown city website. Demolition of the bridge is in the first phase of the hospital demolition process, according to a published report in March. That phase involves demolishing the bridge and the newer additions to the hospital along King Street. Brandenburg Industrial was awarded the contract by Meritus Health to demolish the hospital, and they applied for a demolition permit from the city of Hagerstown in early March.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Leaders of the group formed to restore the historic B&O Roundhouse property for reuse in Martinsburg did not get a financial commitment they wanted from city leaders who cited other pressing needs in the growing community. Though awarded about $8 million in grants for building capital improvements and a pedestrian bridge to the former railroad's maintenance shop, Berkeley County Roundhouse Authority chairman Clarence E. "CEM" Martin told a city council committee Wednesday that the authority's volunteer board was "struggling to keep the doors open" and requested $50,000 for operations and maintenance.

MARTINSBURG, W.VA. - The pedestrian bridge for the historic B&O roundhouse and shop complex in Martinsburg will not be open to people with disabilities who come for this weekend's Rail Days celebration, organizers said. "We don't have an elevator in (the new tower) yet, but the stairs will be available," said Rosetta Chiofalo, executive director of the Berkeley County Roundhouse Authority. "They kept promising (the bridge would be fully accessible) till last week. " The bridge provides access from the Caperton Train Center to the roundhouse center.

MARTINSBURG, W.VA.-Just after 10 a.m. Saturday, the much-anticipated pedestrian bridge was gently lifted to its final destination between the Caperton Train Station and the Martinsburg Roundhouse Center. But a short time later, the huge structure was returned to the ground until a minor adjustment could be made for a secure connection. "It didn't quite fit," said Vaughn Neill, an employee of DMJM Harris, an engineering consulting firm working with CRX on the bridge installation.

MARTINSBURG, W.VA. The installation of a pedestrian bridge over the Capitol Limited rail line from the Caperton Train Station to the historic B&O Roundhouse complex in Martinsburg will require two cranes and the halting of locomotive traffic for about four hours. But the executive director of the Martinsburg Roundhouse Center doesn't expect much of a crowd to be on hand to watch the connecting structure be put in place. "I wouldn't be surprised if its (done) during the night.

WILLIAMSPORT Williamsport resident Kenton Lafferty said his wife, Bernice, walks the C&O Canal's towpath three times a day ? twice with her dogs and once by herself. When her normal route across the canal temporarily shut down last fall, he said he worried about his wife crossing traffic to get to the towpath near the Cushwa Basin. On Tuesday, Bernice got her old route back. The C&O Canal National Historical Park reopened the 105-foot long, 127-year-old Bollman Bridge leading to Riverbottom Park along the Potomac River in Williamsport.

MARTINSBURG, W.VA. martinsburg@herald-mail.com Heat and bathrooms. That's what $680,000 in federal funding secured by U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd will be used for at the Martinsburg Roundhouse. "We need to work toward getting that habitable," Bill Hayes, executive director of the Martinsburg Roundhouse Center, said Tuesday. "There are several things that will make this habitable. Our intent is to put radiant heat in this floor, so most of this floor will have to be redone," Hayes said as he stood inside the cold, empty Roundhouse.

martinsburg@herald-mail.com MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - A use plan for the Martinsburg Roundhouse Center was unanimously approved Tuesday evening by the Roundhouse Authority - officially declaring that the center will be used for concerts, trade shows, conventions, exhibits and other public events. A portion of the facility also will be leased, the plan states. Bill Hayes, executive director of the Roundhouse Authority, said he compiled the plan from numerous external and internal studies already done about the complex, which consists primarily of three large buildings.

Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park will begin a construction project on the Bollman Bridge in Williamsport in late September, according to a press release from C&O Canal officials. During construction, traffic will be routed to a temporary bridge. Visitors on the towpath are asked to obey all warning signs and barricades. Work will include replacing existing timber beams with steel beams. The bridge will be cleaned and painted, and the pedestrian bridge will be replaced.