Golf course expansion held up by lack of funds

by Kara McDonald
For The Post

Ohio University students walking on the bike path might see the bridge arching over the Hocking River. But unlike most bridges, which have a destination on both ends, this bridge leads to nothing but open land.

"The problem, as with most major projects, is that of funding," said Doug Franklin, OU assistant dean of recreation and wellness.

OU built the Hocking River Bridge during Spring Quarter 2000 as part of the Golf Course and Tennis Center Development project. But since its completion, many wonder where the bridge is supposed to lead.

"It has no point," OU freshman Mike Pappas said. "It's the most random thing ever. Sure, we can get to the other side of the river now, but there's nothing there."

Franklin said the bridge jokingly is called "the bridge to nowhere." But the bridge does have a purpose - to expand the golf course.

"We currently have a plan to put four holes on the other side of the river," Franklin said. Project officials plan to reconfigure the existing nine holes into five longer and better-planned holes.

OU owns most of the land on the other side of the bridge, OU spokesman George Mauzy said. The Ohio Department of Transportation owns a small portion of the land, but none of the holes will be constructed in that area.

The bridge and new holes also will create a new front lawn for OU, Franklin said. But this lawn cannot be completed yet.

OU officials have not yet secured funding for the project, but some initial funds will come from a Division of Campus Recreation savings account, he said.

"We will bring something to the table," Franklin said.

The project probably will cost more than $1 million, said Jim Gilmore, executive director of campus recreation. The bridge cost $480,000.

Golfers might have to travel to play when construction begins, because the university will shut down the course, Mauzy said.

"We figure the only way to do it and do it right is to shut down," he said.