In late March, a foot bridge in Annandale disappeared altogether because Fairfax County officials said they couldn’t afford to fix or replace it. On Wednesday, however, the county said it will build a new one.

This bridge is gone, but a new one will replace it soon. Photo by Rick Carlstrom.

On March 23, the county removed the bridge, which crosses a tiny stream in Annandale’s Broyhill Crest Park, after determining it was in danger of collapsing. At that time, Mason District Supervisor Penny Gross told residents that, according to the Fairfax County Park Authority, a replacement bridge would cost $80,000 and there was no money in the budget for a new one.

But in an April 20 email to the Broyhill Crest community, Gross said she and Frank Vajda, the Mason representative on the Park Authority Board, continued to work with Park Authority staff on finding a way to replace the bridge. “Leaving the community bereft of a pedestrian crossing for a long period of time was unacceptable,” she said.

“I am happy to report that the Park Authority came through, funding has been identified, and the order for a new fiberglass bridge has been placed,” she continued.

A prefabricated bridge should arrive in about four weeks, and the project should be finished in about six.

The trail between Murray Lane and Lockwood Lane where a new pedestrian bridge will be installed. Photo by the author.

“In the meantime,” Gross said, “Park Authority maintenance staff will be working at the site to stabilize the stream banks and prepare for installation of bridge foundations prior to the placement of the new bridge.”

Gross estimated using park maintenance staff instead of contractors for some of the work will save about $20,000. She can’t say what the final cost will be because “we don’t know what problems they might run into.” The county will still have to hire contractors to install the piers and do some of the stream restoration work, she said.

Local residents who had spoken up about the unsafe bridge for years and urged the county to fix it had been disappointed that the county would simply remove it without any plans for replacing it.

Crossposted from Annandale VA. Also, this post was updated to reflect Penny Gross’ comments on costs and savings.