Aiken City Council and staff will meet Tuesday to discuss the state of Aiken's historic wooden bridges.
The 5 p.m. work session is open to the public, and will be held in room 204 in the Municipal Building, 214 Park Ave.
Interim City Manager Roger LeDuc said that since meeting with the S.C. Department of Transportation, he feels it's time to discuss potential plans for three of Aiken's wooden bridges, on Union, Fairfield and York streets. The bridges were used as a means of transporting goods such as cotton and Winter Colony residents.
According to the agenda, SCDOT recommends rebuilding the Fairfield Street bridge, and later the City would seek ownership of the bridge. SCDOT also recommends closing the Union Street bridge and replacing the York Street bridge with a wooden deck, wood railing and a possible height change.
"There is some urgency on developing a solution since the current conditional rating of the bridges is very low and therefore potentially dangerous," the agenda states.
The three bridges have not been modernized, unlike the Laurens Street bridge. In April 2012, the Laurens Street bridge collapsed because of heavy erosion, and City staff have said that they don't want that incident occurring to the other wooden bridges.
In 2013, Council unanimously voted to place all three wooden bridges on the historic register, which included the addition of an amendment to the zoning ordinance by placing the bridges in the Historic District.
If the bridges need any alteration or construction, a Certificate of Appropriateness is required. Within the Historic District, any relocation, demolition to fences, walls, gates, construction or alterations requires a Certificate of Appropriateness.
The zoning ordinance gives the Design Review Board jurisdiction over the bridges. Work done to the structures would have to be approved by City Council. For work done within City limits, by state statute, SCDOT would have to obtain a municipal agreement.
In addition to the bridges, Council and staff will discuss a proposed RV camp at Highfields Event Center and capital projects at the Aiken Municipal Airport.
Maayan Schechter is the local government reporter with Aiken Standard. Follow her on Twitter @MaayanSchechter.