Tue, Nov 24 2009
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Benetka Road has distinctive redwood siding By CARL E. FEATHER - Staff Writer - cfeather@starbeacon.comStar Beacon “Some of them thought he was kind of a gruff old guy, he thought he had to be first sergeant,” the resident continued.
Looking at the timber in the bridge, the resident observes that two types of sawmills were used to cut it. Radial cut marks on the timbers leave tell-tale marks of a circular saw. The pattern left behind on other timbers suggest the work of a vertical saw powered by water. Although he can’t date the incident to a specific year, the long-time resident says a terrible storm blew through the area one summer when “two tornadoes came together over Lake Erie.” The resulting flood washed the bridge downstream until it became lodged against a huge maple tree. The bridge was disassembled and returned to its original crossing. Another story relating to that storm has one of the residents of the valley riding around on horseback and rescuing victims from their homes. As to why this road is named Benetka and not Clark’s Mill, the long-time resident says that’s always been an issue for residents of the road. The Benetka family lived at the south end of the road, and those at the north end felt it ought to have the Clark name. Renovations Most published sources set the construction date of the Benetka Road closer to 1900 than to 1878; perhaps the circa 1900 date relates to the re-construction following the storm. One clue to its more youthful date was the use of four cut-stone blocks for the abutments, a more modern approach to construction, and perhaps installed after the river claimed whatever abutments were there previously. The north abutment was replaced with concrete when the bridge was renovated in 1985; the south abutment was reinforced. The bridge is a single span of 138 feet. Its World Guide to Covered Bridges number is 35-04-12. When Tim Wing heard that county engineer John Smolen planned to renovate the old bridge, he offered to bring in a railroad car of rough-cut redwood from the West Coast. Wing, who was using redwood on his home-construction projects, offered the materials to the county at cost. The redwood has weathered and given the bridge a very distinctive color. County workers performed the 1985 renovation, which included the addition of laminated arches for additional strength. The arch is 9 inches wide, 38 inches deep and constructed from 1-inch yellow poplar. The $50,000 renovation raised the bridge by three feet. Floor beams were replaced and a new deck installed over them. The bridge’s appearance was changed substantially as a result of these renovations, but it remains as much a charmer as it was back in Tim Wing’s childhood. The approach to the bridge, which creates a blind spot, was not changed with the renovation, and Wing says he still beeps his horn as he approaches it. Motorists who recall traveling the county’s byways in a slower-paced era may remember how certain bridges had “BEEP HORN” signs posted near the portals to these one-lane structures situated on curves. Then again, that goes back to the days of sled riding on Benetka Road hill and swimming in the Ashtabula River, simpler times gone but not forgotten. 
More from the Covered bridge series section
Olin Bridge county’s only extant covered bridge with family name ‘First Covered Bridge’ fondly recalled Spring Street bridge tackled Gulf divide |
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