Nearly $2.6 Million State Investment Will Repair Two Historic Covered Bridges in Fleming County
Work under way on historic Grange City and Ringos Mill bridges
FLEMINGSBURG, Ky. (Dec. 22, 2023) – Two iconic bridges will be restored thanks to a nearly $2.6 million state investment to preserve historic covered bridges in Fleming County known to tourists as the “Covered Bridge Capital of Kentucky.” The bridges are among a dozen covered bridges still standing in the state. Work is underway using a specialized contractor.
The covered bridges – Grange City and Ringos Mill – date to the 1860s, the era of horse- and mule-drawn wagon travel. They will undergo repairs designed to protect them for future generations while saving as many of their original timbers as possible. These bridges, along with the previously restored Goddard covered Bridge, are two of three covered bridges in Fleming County.
The Kentucky landscape once was dotted with more than 400 covered wooden bridges, but only a dozen remain today. Most of the originals were destroyed by fire or flooding or simply were allowed to deteriorate.
“This Administration’s investment to protect these historic marvels of wooden engineering ensures Kentuckians can experience them now and well into the future,” said Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Secretary Jim Gray. “We’re confident that we have the team and the funding in place to ensure that happens.”
The highly specialized repair work is being performed by Arnold M. Graton Associates, Inc., of New Hampshire. The company’s principal, Arnold Graton, is a nationally known covered bridge expert who has restored several other Kentucky covered bridges in recent years. He will do the current restorations under contract with the Buffalo Trace Covered Wooden Bridge Authority and Buffalo Trace Area Development District.
Graton’s company uses old-time techniques and hand tools as well as cranes and other modern equipment to restore covered bridges to their historic condition while adding support to safeguard them against future decay or damage.
Preliminary work began earlier this month at Grange City. Construction will ramp up in January and will continue over the next two years at both bridges with repairs to flooring, siding, roofs, and structural beams of each bridge as well as renovations of the stone abutments supporting them.
During construction, the two bridges will be moved off their abutments so that they may receive a full-scale historic restoration, including the use of their existing timbers to the extent possible. The abutments will be restored and the bridges replaced in their original locations.
The Grange City bridge project comes two years after floodwaters of Fox Creek inundated the bridge and nearly collapsed it.
At that time, the Transportation Cabinet worked with the covered bridge authority to bring in Graton to stabilize and save the bridge. The Transportation Cabinet then began working toward the funding of a full-scale restoration.
As plans progressed at Grange City, the Transportation Cabinet was also able to fulfill a decades-old promise to Fleming County by allocating funds to restore the aging Ringos Mill Covered Bridge nearby.
Once the projects are complete, Grange City and Ringos Mill will be two of the latest covered bridges that the Transportation Cabinet has restored in the last 18 years since it started historically preserving Kentucky’s remaining structures.
And it might not be the last. Engineers began discussions recently with the covered bridge authority, local officials, and community members in Mason County on plans to restore the Dover Covered Bridge. That bridge – the oldest covered bridge in Kentucky – was also damaged by floods but has since been stabilized.
The Grange City Covered Bridge, located in the Grange City community along KY 111 south of Hillsboro, is an 86-foot-long Multiple Kingpost truss design built between 1865 and 1870. The bridge was closed to traffic in 1968 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
Ringos Mill Covered Bridge, built around 1867 to 1869, was also closed to traffic and added to the National Register in 1976. It spans Fox Creek adjacent to KY 158 just east of Hillsboro. It’s also 86 feet long and features a similar truss design to Grange City.
For safety reasons, the bridges and the area around them will be closed to the public during construction. Please do not cross barricades or caution tape.
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 PHOTO: Restoration of the Grange City (pictured) and Ringos Mill covered bridges in Fleming County is now under way by Arnold M. Graton Associates, Inc., of New Hampshire. Seated is Arnold Graton, a nationally known covered bridge expert who has restored several other Kentucky covered bridges in recent years. From left, local contractors Paul and Justin Garrison of Mason County, who are working with Tim Dansereau, Ben Spence, Mr. Graton, and Meg Dansereau, all of Graton Associates.
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