Community pulls together to restore local landmark bridge
Members of the Riverbend Community in North Fort Myers have pulled together both with volunteer and financial resources to restore the covered bridge that is an important part of their community.
It is a focal part of our community, said Carol Putney, president of the local homeowner’s association and a member of the Riverbend Covered Bridge Restoration Committee.
It is listed under Florida bridges under many Internet websites, she noted.
Several homeowner groups participated in forming the Riverbend Covered Bridge Restoration Commit-tee, which has now successfully finished the project.
“We asked for donations from the community. We received just short of $14,000. That isn’t bad for a community of 355 units,” she said.
“Gary Groth is president of the Yachtsman’s Cove Condo Association, the largest in Riverbend. We had someone inspect the bridge to determine it was safe, it was – but needed repairs.”
He and others reported that one resident, Randy Frye of B&L Home Services, was a contractor who volunteered time. There were also volunteers from Gulf Shores of CAM (Community Association Management Inc.), the on-site golf course contractor, and part-owner Bill Killian also volunteered time to fix the bridge and do other maintenance, with Juan Carlos, who provided labor and materials for the painting of the bridge.
The homeowners’ group also fixed the pool and the entrance berm, which needed repairing of irrigation, lighting, and landscaping, which is a main site on Bayshore Road.
The bridge project took about five months to complete, said Cindy Jindra, a key organizer. The bridge is the key entry to both the Riverbend Golf Course facility and Marker 34 Restaurant. The restaurant can also be reached by water – at its namesake Marker 34.
“The food is excellent at the restaurant, it is spotlessly clean and well run and we’re hoping more people come to it now that the bridge is restored,” said Jindra.
Joanne Delbene is the manager there, and said it is a community meeting place. Hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., weekdays; on weekends Marker 34 is open until until 10 p.m.
Even though folks have been very generous, they are short for all the repair work that was done, and hope the residents continue to give donations to complete the projects, organizers said.