Fellow Equestrians:

Can you help? The bridge is washed out.

This is the bridge at the end of Greer Road, leading into Huddart Park trails. The trail is called the Kings Mountain Trail. This is a critical bridge for equestrians from South Woodside to access Huddart Park.  The alternate route is to ride up the asphalt road and over the vehicle bridge, which can get slippery when wet and is not desirable for safety reasons.

The creek has undermined the footings;  the bridge needs to be replaced, with new footings set back from the bank at 8 to 12 feet.  The new bridge will be longer than the old one (45 feet vs 24 feet) and require new beams.  Environmental rules require the new bridge be made of the same material as the old: wood beams and wood decking.   The County Parks team and the MP Foundation are developing a plan and budget for the replacement bridge, which is estimated to be $60,000 for materials.  Because of the expenses incurred in repairing the extensive storm damage over this past year, County Parks has no budget available for this project. The County can provide the labor, but they are asking the community to come up with all the funds for the materials.  The project cannot be started until after June 15, 2025, when restrictions on work around creeks are lifted and the rains have ceased.   Final details of design, engineering, permits and material costs are still in process.