In 1991, the city of Bellaire (OH) was happy to announce that an individual had purchased the historic Bellaire Toll Bridge. For a little background, the bridge opened in 1926, and was featured in a scene from "The Silence of the Lambs".
The current owner's name is Roger Barack. He's a Bellaire businessman. At the time, everyone thought it was fantastic that the bridge would stay open and provide a most necessary access to and from Benwood WV. Now this bridge is just a bloody eyesore.
Apologies for the crummy pic, but I want to give you an idea of what it looks like today.
Right of way was sold to the state, which did eventually remove the access ramp from the Ohio side of the bridge to make way for the redesigned Route 7 project.
The bridge has sat unused, rusty, and falling apart ever since. The Coast Guard went after owner Roger Barack in 2002 and demanded that he have the bridge demolished. The Coast Guard maintains that "When the bridge no longer serves a purpose, the owner must tear it down." Mr. Barack has not done so, and as a result continues to be assessed civil penalties .
Meanwhile Ohio Congressman Bob Ney worked to pass a federal transportation bill with $1.7 million dollars earmarked to tear down the bridge.
Why? Why does Bob Ney want to bail out a private individual when the city of Bellaire can't obtain federal money for other important projects? Bob Ney doesn't even represent Bellaire anymore.
Mr. Ney was asked on the record whether it is fair and he answered, "If there's not enough money in the first place I don't know how, but they should go back to the shareholders, some of which are probably dead, and if they can't get the money they come to us for the rest to tear it down."
Yeah ok, there are no shareholders. The Interstate Bridge Company received 2.1 million dollars for the sale of rights to the State of Ohio in 1990, and then filed certificate of dissolution in October 1991. Roger Barack took over rights to the bridge in March 1991 in what the president of the soon-to-be dissolved company called a "transfer of liability". It's his tar baby, plain and simple.
Oops.
http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_detail.php?city=BELLAIRE&st=OH&last=barack&first=rog
er
http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_detail.php?city=NEFFS&st=OH&last=barack&first=roger
I wonder if there is even more to this story.