FORT KNOX, Ky. – Members of the 76th Engineer Company, 19th Engineer Battalion, completed rebuilding a foot-bridge crossing Camp Carlson Lake on July 1.

The 76th Engineer Company began the project in mid-May, which called for a complete rebuild of the footbridge crossing the eastside of the lake.

The previous bridge was in disrepair and was considered unsafe by the engineer’s standards.

“I would say that the old bridge wasn’t even passable,” said Sgt. David Brand, a carpentry and masonry specialist with the 76th Engineer Company and noncommissioned officer in charge of the Camp Carlson bridge project. “Quality-wise, what we built is much more stable and a lot more load bearing than what was here earlier.”

The damage on the previous bridge was extensive and included missing boards and other building materials. Brand said that in rainy conditions, the bridge would flood and become unusable.

“We’ve gotten tons of responses from campers who are happy that they can now access this bridge. Our fishermen are very happy for it as they can now fish right from this bridge,” said Diana Burnett, Camp Carlson’s site manager. “This has really been a blessing for us.”

Improvements over the old bridge include pressure treated building materials, fencing and screws, which were used in the place of nails.

“Quality-wise, what we built is 600 times better than what was here previously,” said Brand. “With the old bridge, we were nervous to put more than one person on it at a time.”

The 76th Engineer Company used this opportunity to train its soldiers in their specific jobs. Training opportunities don’t come often for the unit at Fort Knox, so when the bid came up, the 19th jumped at the opportunity.

“If we could do this type of project every day, we would,” said Brand. “Overall, the project went well as our soldiers have worked hard to get it completed.”

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