ODOT to auction off a bridge

WATERVILLE – The Ohio Department of Transportation will be auctioning off the Roche de Boeuf bridge and its accompanying property. The 5.627 acre property is located in Middleton Township and the city of Waterville.

Roche de Boeuf bridge goes from the intersection of State Route 65 and Forst Road in Wood County to the Anthony Wayne Trail. The bridge was constructed in 1908, by the Cincinnati & Lake Erie Railroad Company, and was originally used as an electric interurban trolley line. The bridge was first abandoned in 1937, after the tracks were removed. It would reopen again in 1941 as a temporary automobile crossing, due to shortage of steel during World War II. ODOT deemed the bridge unsafe for equipment traffic in 1983.

“Our duty to the public is not being met in two very significant ways with this bridge,” said Patrick McColley, Deputy Director for ODOT District 2. “ODOT’s mission is to safely move people and goods from place to place, and at one time, this bridge supported that mission. The bridge now, however, serves no purpose for transportation, and in its deteriorated state poses a risk to the public.”

The auction will take place on on June 30 at 10:00AM, at the Maumee Rotary Pavilion in the Side Cut Metropark in Maumee. The purchaser will assume all responsibility and liability for maintenance, management, securing, repair, replacement, or removal of the bridge structure. ODOT will not retain any responsibilities or liabilities for or in connection with the bridge or associated property.

The property is appraised at $100.

More information can be found at transportation.ohio.gov/rochedeboeuf/