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Clackamas County is offering one of its bridges to anyone who wants it, provided the person can pay to pick it up and move it onto his or her property.

The county is planning to begin work to replace the Carver Bridge, located at the north end of Springwater Road, later this year. The 500-foot steel bridge span was fabricated in 1930 and moved to its current location over the Clackamas River in 1954. The bridge is deteriorating and was classified as 鈥渇unctionally obsolete鈥� in its last Department of Transportation inspection. It will be replaced by a wider bridge with bike lanes and sidewalks.

鈥淲e had to go through the federal process, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said that the bridge qualifies to be on the National Register of Historic Places,鈥� said Ellen Rogalin, Clackamas County spokeswoman. 鈥淭hat means that, by law, we have to offer it to somebody if they want to take, move and preserve it.鈥�

The other option to mitigate the historic loss is to document the building photographically, Rogalin said.

If an interested 鈥渉istoric bridge buff鈥� wants to save the Carver Bridge, he or she will have to work within the county’s contractor’s schedule and state and federal preservation guidelines, Rogalin said.

The County has not heard from anyone interested in saving the bridge, and the loss of the historic resource 鈥渉as not been a big concern鈥� in the public involvement process, Rogalin said.

鈥淭his happens occasionally to us and others,鈥� Rogalin said. While she remembers the county offering a historic bridge to the public before, she can’t recall anyone ever taking the county up on the offer.

鈥淚t becomes very expensive for whoever wants to take it,鈥� she said.