After succumbing to falling trees for the second time in nearly 50 years, the quaint footbridge linking the Barcroft and Arlington Forest neighborhoods is on the brink of its second rebirth.
On Monday, the Arlington County Board approved the transfer of a small parcel of land, owned by Dominion Energy and located between 416 S. Abingdon Street and 500 S. Abingdon Street, to rebuild a recently fallen footbridge that has provided safe passage to residents crossing a stream known as Grandma’s Creek since the 1940s.
The original bridge was destroyed in the 1980s when a massive tree fell on it during a severe storm. Despite unclear ownership and easement rights, Arlington County responded to community outcry and replaced the bridge in 1984.
However, the replacement bridge met the same fate in July 2022, destroyed once again by trees that fell during another severe storm. A local resident reported the damaged bridge to county staff, prompting the county manager’s office to collaborate with local civic organizations to close the pathway and clear the debris.
County staff eventually negotiated a deal with Dominion, allowing the power company to retain easement rights for maintaining their electric lines on the property while granting the county a public right of passage to rebuild and maintain a new bridge at no cost.
County officials plan to install a new prefabricated bridge by late summer or early fall of this year at a total cost of approximately $70,000, with $46,680 allocated for the bridge itself and the remainder for installation labor, according to a county board report. Funding for the project will come from the Arlington Department of Environmental Services’ bridge maintenance budget.
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