Clear Fork couple asks community for help repairing an “orphan” bridge

CLEAR FORK, WV (WVNS) — Abby Boggess and David Smith of Clear Fork said they are one of around four families who have to cross an “orphaned” bridged to leave home, and they are asking charities, agencies, and individuals in the region to help make the bridge safe.

The bridge, which crosses the creek at Fulton Bottom, was once owned by a local mining company, Smith said, but has been abandoned.

School children walk across the bridge on the way to their bus stop on Clear Creek Road. The bridge has gaping holes where wood has rotted away.

Some of the planks spring upward because they cannot be securely attached to the older frame.

“We have tried to replace a few holes, but the runners that run underneath…there’s nothing to screw the top boards down to, so they’re all flopping back up,” said Boggess on Wednesday, July 24, 2024. “They’re busting out, they’re rotting out. It seems like every time we try to put a board down, two or three mess up, and we can’t afford to keep buying them because we’re disabled here.”

Smith, a disabled coal miner who moved to the area with Boggess around three years ago, said he cannot physically do the work required to make the bridge safe for himself and his neighbors.

“If I could do this kind of work, I’d still be working,” Smith said on Wednesday, July 24, 2025. “I mean, that’s just the truth.”

Although residents drive across the bridge, Smith said local emergency responders will not drive across the bridge. This slows down help for those having a medical emergency.

“The nice lady at the end, her mom was real bad off and she needed an ambulance,” said Smith about a neighbor. “They called an ambulance, but [the emergency responders] refused to cross the bridge. They parked over here and sent all the way back down to Whitesville for another vehicle to come up here to cross the bridge to get her.”

Raleigh County Commission officials told 59News on Wednesday that there are a number of “orphan” bridges in Raleigh County, mostly concentrated in rural communities which do not pay city taxes for road repairs.

The bridges were once privately owned but are now abandoned and do not receive funding or repairs from any local, state, or federal agency.

Boggess said she has called the West Virginia Department of Highways (WVDOH) and FEMA for help but has been denied.

The couple said they are appealing to those in the community who may be able to help.

“We just want some help. I need help. That’s all I’m asking for – someone coming to help me and do boards on this bridge,” Boggess said.

She asked that anyone who may be willing to provide materials and labor contact her at boggessabby799@gmail.com.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WVNS.