New Home for Old Bridge on Wyoming Ranch
After nearly 100 years spanning Cottonwood Creek south of Worland, WY, the Winchester Bridge was moved to a new home last week.
Washakie County sold the bridge for $1,100 to the Galloway Ranch north of Ten Sleep, according to the Cowboy State Daily. Deemed unsafe for public travel in a recent WYDOT inspection, county commissioners chose to sell the bridge to the highest bidder.
The 90-by-25-foot structure was hauled 40 miles down Highway 16 to its new home north of Ten Sleep.
Washakie County commissioners noted that taking the bridge to a foundry to be disposed of would cost the county about $29,000. The purchase price, however, is just the beginning of the ranch’s cost.
“They're going to have to do some work to the bridge,” said Cody Beers with the Wyoming Department of Transportation. “I mean, there's no deck on the bridge. Right now, it's just a big piece of iron.”
Construction is already underway on a replacement bridge over Cottonwood Creek on Washakie County Road 86 with a price tag of approximately $1.5 million.
