CENTERVILLE — In the heart of Butte Creek Canyon, a generational landmark has been restored.
The Honey Run Covered Bridge Association held a ribbon cutting ceremony Saturday at the rebuilt Honey Run Covered Bridge and Park, marking the return of the Butte County staple lost in the 2018 Camp Fire that once served generations past in wedding ceremonies and pancake breakfasts with the sheriff.
It’s the same size, shape and appearance of the old bridge, but now with a steel frame. The wooden exterior is fresh, however, but will gain that weathered color as it ages.
Walt Schafer, director of the association, addressed more than 60 community members, dignitaries, volunteers and locals that assisted in helping rebuild the bridge, and he thanked a cohort of professionals who helped in fundraising, design, engineering and construction that gave their services pro bono.
“You can see, it took a community to fund a rebuild … to build it … and it took a community of board members, donors, engineers, contractors and others to collaborate across lines of politics, religion, income, gender and ethnicity, to unite for a single noble purpose — to rebuild the iconic covered bridge,” Schafer said.
He used three words to capture the essence of the rebuild: “Resilience, persistence and unity.”
Around 3 p.m., the first visitors of the bridge took their first steps across.
Schafer said the association is now in phase four of its rebuild and will work with Butte County to create conditions to hold events an create a plan for maintenance.
At the end of his speech, Schafer noted that the bridge’s pillars, before the camp fire, were found with only 2 feet deep because of erosion. The new bridge now has 4 foot diameter pillars, rather than three feet, that are 41 feet deep.
“They will be there for a while,” Schafer said.
