WASHINGTON COUNTY (KFSM)– Washington County officials hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony Friday morning to celebrate the completion and opening of a new bridge just outside of West Fork.
The Woolsey Bridge has been under construction for more than a year and had a bid amount of about $2.5 million.
The new bridge replaces an old, one-lane truss bridge built that was constructed in 1947. It closed years ago because of its age and disrepair.
The Woolsey Bridge stretches over the west fork of the White River on Washington County Road 35.
District Construction Engineer Jason Hughey said this new bridge will shave off some travel time for commuters in the area.
Hughey said, “During the time that it was shut down, the residents here in this community had to drive around several miles to access US-71 to go to Fayetteville or points to the south or to get over to Interstate 49… so now they have a direct connection back to US-71.”
He said it was exciting to finally see the project completed and to give those commuters a quicker way to get where they need to go.
