What's next for the Manning Bridge

COLFAX-With the burnt remnants of the private, 1918 Manning-Rye covered bridge fallen into the Palouse River, plans are underway for removal of debris and replacement of the bridge; perhaps with a deconstructed span from elsewhere of the same era.

Downstream from the site northwest of Colfax-where a family also lost their new house-are four county-owned bridges, starting five miles away on Shields Road.

"If left unmitigated though the winter, (the remains) will mobilize and probably smack up against our bridges," said Mark Storey, Whitman County Public Works director. "The window of opportunit...