Span 4 Swing Span Restoration Begins
April 22, 2026
On the afternoon of Friday, April 10th, representatives from the Historic Harmar Bridge Company (HHBC) and the City of Marietta met outside of City Hall to settle a bill. What would seem like a simple transaction on the surface was actually the result of years of effort between multiple government agencies and their departments, organizations, volunteers, and community members, all coming together with one goal in mind: to reopen the Harmar Bridge as a pedestrian crossing.
At this meeting, HHBC board chair Derek Buell and board director Bret Allphin delivered a $50,000 check to the City of Marietta for HHBC's required match funds for the Ohio Department Of Transportation (ODOT) Transportation Alternative Program (TAP) grant award. Mayor Josh Schlicher ceremoniously accepted the payment on behalf of the city, accompanied by Community Development Director Geoff Schenkel and Community Development Specialist Amanda Clark, the writers of the successful TAP grant application.
In June of 2025, a partnership between the City of Marietta and HHBC, forged through a joint use agreement (JUA), received news of the $1,000,000 ODOT TAP grant award aimed at improving non-driver access to public transportation, community improvement activities, and environmental mitigation. In order to unlock these funds, HHBC would be responsible for providing the 5% ($50,000) local match to ODOT's 95% ($950,000) commitment, for a project total of $1,000,000 geared toward swing span rehabilitation and east approach construction.
"The Historic Harmar Bridge refurbishment project embodies the very spirit of ODOT’s Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP),” said ODOT District 10 Deputy Director Rich Oster who was present at Friday's meeting alongside ODOT District LPA Manager Eric Reed. “ODOT strongly supports and promotes walking and biking in the state, and we’re excited to see the pedestrian corridor associated with this project become a reality."
“Through the TAP funding source, every $1 raised by the community received a $20 return on investment," said HHBC board chair Derek Buell. “With an average yearly fundraising total of around $50,000 between the festival, raffle, and individual donations, HHBC through its partnership with the city has managed to leverage one year of fundraising into $1,000,000 for the bridge," he continued. "I am proud of, and grateful for, this community's support and investment."
This milestone moment was in no small part possible due to a joint use agreement filed in 2022 with the State of Ohio between the City of Marietta, Washington County, and the HHBC. It expanded access to diverse funding streams as well as partnership ventures that otherwise would not have been available to the HHBC. The agreement allows for the use of government funding for the bridge, which is how the HHBC is funding this current phase of the project, and will be in place for 15 years after the reopening of the Harmar Bridge, providing additional funding opportunities for maintenance costs following the completion of construction.
As a critical first step in advancing the TAP project, an evaluation of the bridge would need to be performed to determine the structural condition of the swing span and its manually operated turning mechanism, informing the design and probable cost of its rehabilitation. Initially, it was assumed that inspections would be funded using a part of the TAP award, reducing the amount of funds that would go toward construction. However, in the fall of 2025, a partnership between Washington County, the City of Marietta, and Marietta College made the decision to use a portion of their remaining planning grant funds from the U.S. Department of Transportation's (USDOT) Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant program to furnish the bridge evaluation. The BUILD grant program provides grants for surface transportation infrastructure projects with significant local or regional impact. The other part of those remaining funds were used earlier this year to submit a second BUILD construction grant application requesting $25,000,000 for the construction of a Butler Street pedestrian corridor from Marietta College to Harmar Village with the Harmar Bridge playing a critical role in that linkage. Of the $25,000,000 requested, $10,387,620 is earmarked for bridge construction. Not only does the bridge evaluation improve our understanding of the condition of the bridge structure, it also strengthens the competitiveness of the BUILD grant application, a mutually beneficial use of funds. On March 23rd, with bridge evaluation costs secured, American Structurepoint, a national multi-disciplinary engineering firm headquartered in Indianapolis with an office in Columbus, began the evaluation process of the bridge. They were accompanied by their consultants Consor Engineers and Modjeski & Masters who were tasked to inspect the trusses and swing span mechanism respectively. Their efforts will result in a report that will inform the TAP project going forward.
“The Historic Harmar Bridge Company Board have made major strides recently in the mission to rehabilitate and reconstruct the Harmar Railroad Bridge. The City of Marietta is excited and invested in seeing the project through to completion. With positive teamwork across many agencies, securing grant funding and successful Harmar Days Festival events and other fundraisers, the Historic Harmar Bridge Company Board and members have moved the efforts along rapidly and effectively,” said City of Marietta Mayor, Josh Schlicher. “As the city makes huge strides in downtown revitalization projects,” Schlicher continued, “we all will gain from the benefits of everyone working together with positive partnerships and opening the doors for all to enjoy. As Mayor, I am energized everyday by our leaders that make our community grow and improve for all”.
This was the first of many great milestones to come for the HHBC on their mission to establish a vital lifeline to all community members by connecting local and regional networks through the adaptive reuse of the Historic Harmar Bridge. None of which would be possible without the community’s support, the City Development Office, ODOT District 10 and our many active board members and advocates. The Harmar Bridge connects our communities and we look forward to the day pedestrians can once again have a dedicated pathway.
#bridgingthegap
Left to Right: Rich Oster, Amanda Clark, Brett Alphin, Josh Schlicher, Derek Buell, Eric Reed, Geoff Schenkel