A bridge to community

Thirteen metres isn’t a long walk, but it can be a difficult journey when the creek between your house and the rest of your community is running high and the bridge across it is out.

Almost a year-and-a-half after their link to the road—and the rest of the world—was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy, Garcie and Josephine Cogar are happily traversing their new bridge that was built by Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) volunteers.

The Cogars’ plight was brought to the attention of Larry Stoner, MDS disaster response coordinator, by the Red Cross of West Virginia. After several calls and visits to the local authorities to confirm the logistics of permits and inspections, a plan began. Since the creek is only 13 metres wide, it was determined that the bridge wouldn’t need a centre support, and that a “swinging bridge” was the solution.

Bridges aren’t the norm for MDS, so Johann Zimmerman, an engineer from Harrisonburg, Va., was brought in. Zimmerman has designed swinging
bridges in the past and was very interested in the project. He made a visit to the site, met the family, saw the need and volunteered to design the bridge pro bono.

It took several months to complete the design, and the Cogar family was a little apprehensive that this would really happen.

Stoner also wondered the same thing. But, as he relates, “The Lord provided answers each time we had a question.”

The project had an unusual shopping list for MDS, which primarily restores buildings, as it included two welded steel towers, cables, clamps and lumber for the bridge’s 36.5-metre walking deck.

 “I saw God’s Spirit leading in this job so many times,” Stoner says. “When it came time to actually take volunteers for the building of the bridge, we started to wonder who would be willing to go.”

A few calls were made to long-time volunteers, and friends called friends. When people heard about the need, the numbers grew. Fourteen volunteers left early one morning to build a bridge.

A small crew of volunteers from Lancaster, Pa., and Harrisonburg, went to dig the foundations and pour the footers for the towers. The plan was to drive the concrete truck through the stream to get the concrete to the far footer. But when that day arrived, it was too wet and snowy, so a contact in Harrisonburg who had a concrete pump was called and the concrete hose was pulled through the stream to complete the job.

The week of the build, the weather was perfect. “We thought it would take from Monday to Friday [to finish the bridge],” Stoner says. “They finished Thursday at noon and that night a huge thunderstorm went through the area.”

The family and community were great supports for the project. The family helped clean up the debris from the old bridge and cut down two trees that were too close to the new bridge.

Meals were served to the volunteers by the extended Cogar family and local churches in Webster Springs.

“We have a good working relationship with the local Baptist and Methodist churches, where our volunteers were fed and lodged,” Stoner says, adding, “Another example of the Spirit’s involvement.”

With this bridge completed, MDS has been asked to check out another one that needs replacing.

--Posted June 4, 2014