LESTER — After 121 years, the wooden-and-metal bridge over Sugar Creek near Lester is empty and rusting. No one crosses; no one makes repairs.

“Road closed” signs and piles of dirt at each end make drivers turn back, on a path to a 12-mile detour.

The closure of the one-lane bridge three years ago leaves two communities separated by the long detour and continues to pose a threat to safety, officials say, but the Alabama Department of Transportation has yet to act.

Bill Daws, Limestone County 4 District Commissioner, said Thursday he is awaiting funding from the state to replace the bridge over Sugar Creek that was closed in 2005 because it was unsafe.

Limestone County does not have the money to replace the bridge, which is expected to cost about $500,000, said County Commission Chairman David Seibert.

Alabama Sen. Tom Butler, D-Madison, said Thursday he has made DOT officials aware that ambulances and fire trucks have to take a long detour for emergencies but the department said there was no money for the project.

“I told them that there were safety issues, that for the fire department to get to Lester from Goodsprings, it had to take a big detour,” Butler said. “Last time I checked with the highway department, they said funds are not available right now.”

Butler said he would renew efforts to find funding and push the DOT to take action.

Daws said the other volunteer fire department in the area is West Limestone VFD, which is further from Lester than the Goodsprings department.

“If they do have a fire, they’ve got to go several miles out of the way,” he said.

He said he also knows the detour is a daily inconvenience for residents.

“Its just aggravating,” he said. “They have to go around. They’ve got two communities cut off where people have to go around to get back on Highway 99. It’s a big inconvenience for those people who live there.”

The bridge was closed after inspectors found the trusses were weak and the bridge could fail without warning.

The bridge reportedly was built in 1888 at another location along Alabama 99 and was moved to its present site in 1947.