Concerns regarding Ely’s Stone Bridge

To the Editor,

     I am writing this in an attempt to bring attention to a situation that many may not be aware of.

     This past week, the county added even more barriers to prevent people from accessing the Ely Stone Bridge. This included metal reflective posts lined up in the ditch to prevent anyone from driving around the cattle gates to drive down to the bridge (from the south), or under the bridge on an ATV (from the north). That, although an eye sore, is not where my concern has come in.

     My concern is with the fact that the county chose to put heavy cement slabs ON the bridge itself to prevent anyone from driving over the bridge.

     For a bridge that has been closed down due to the county being concerned about it being able to sustain the weight from the traffic and the wear it would have over time on the bridge and the safety of the road and structure, this solution certainly doesn’t make sense. The big cement slabs are placed directly in the center of the bridge, over the middle arch. There is no way that bridge can handle that amount of constant weight and pressure, and it will surely add to the crumbling and deterioration that is already taking place.

     If you were able to take time to Google “top things to do in Monticello, Iowa,” do you know what is mentioned in the top five? The Ely Stone Bridge.

     I would have to say that the county originally had been concerned about the safety of the road if people were driving over it. Now, with the cement slabs, one of Monticello’s “top five places to visit” is definitely feeling the pressure (literally) from the county. Not sure how much more our old friend, Ely’s Stone Bridge, can take. I hope the county will reconsider and remove the cement slabs off the bridge itself and that we are able to find a long-term answer soon.

A dear friend of the old Stone Bridge,

Kerri Dusanek

Monticello, Iowa