Cheap part, hard job: Joe Page Bridge up and running after morning mechanical issues

HARDIN – The Joe Page Bridge in Hardin was down for more than an hour during this morning's early rush hour.

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At 6:18 a.m., the bridge was unable to lock in place due to a broken proximity switch, a worker on the bridge told Riverbender.com. This broken switch caused the bridge not to lock in place when it was down, because it could not locate where the locks and locking pins were. The part required to repair the bridge was only $1.50, but the repair efforts were daunting, considering the part needing the replacement was under a thick plate only accessible by hanging “in the middle of nowhere.”

Mechanics were called to the scene and the work was done by 7:54 a.m. when the bridge was declared operable again to passing traffic.

A Facebook post by the Calhoun County Sheriff's Office posted this afternoon assured people requiring the bridge crossing it was, in fact, still open, despite rumors to the contrary around the county.

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