Sean C. Morgan
09/29/12
The Linn County Board of Commissioners were scheduled to open bids Tuesday for the repair and rehabilitation of Short Bridge in Cascadia.
The work will be completed through the use of federal grant funds, said Linn County Roadmaster Darrin Lane. Short Bridge is just one of several bridges the county will repair and rehab.
The project includes roof and minor structural repairs, Lane said. It also includes the removal of asphalt and installation of a wooden deck.
The wooden deck is something the county has already done in recent years with another covered bridge, Shimanek Bridge, which crosses Thomas Creek on Richardson Gap Road near Scio and Stayton.
The county had to replace the deck on Shimanek Bridge, Lane said. When it had removed the asphalt, road officials were amazed at how wet the wood was beneath the asphalt.
That wood had a waterproof membrane around it for more than a decade, Lane said. Apparently, it was only good for a week. Leaving the roadway as a wooden deck, the idea was if the wood were exposed, it would dry out.
County officials didn’t know how well the deck would hold up under traffic or how it would affect traction, so it decreased the speed limit from 55 mph to 30 mph for vehicles crossing Shimanek Bridge.
The bridge also draws a lot of pedestrians taking photos, Lane said – another reason for reduced speeds there.
It seems to be holding up well, Lane said. “It looks more authentic. It feels more authentic.”
Speed won’t be an issue for Short Bridge, which crosses the South Santiam in Cascadia, about 10 miles east of Sweet Home, to reach Cascadia Drive and High Deck Road. But a wooden deck will give Short Bridge increased weight capacity.
The bridge is now limited to 25 tons – 50,000 pounds, Lane said. Removing 4 inches of asphalt will remove an estimated 25 tons of weight on the bridge structure. The county’s goal is to increase the weight limit on the bridge to 80,000 pounds.
The bridge hadn’t been load limited until recently, Lane said, but under the limits, an empty truck can probably cross the bridge.
Details on the construction are not set yet, Lane said. Depending on the contractor and weather, it could still happen this year.
Linn County will post advance notice, Lane said. He acknowledged that the closure will force some residents on the north side of the river to drive farther to cross the river at Cascadia State Park, a detour of about 6 1/2 miles.
“It is a little bit of an inconvenience,” Lane said. “It’s just a necessity of maintaining roads and bridges.”
Lane said he anticipates that Short Bridge will be closed for about a month.
The current estimate for the project is $270,000, he said. Overall, the county is planning to spend about $18 million in eight or nine bridge projects using federal grant funds provided by the federal gasoline tax.
Projects include the bridge over the North Santiam River on the Stayton-Scio Highway just outside of Stayton. The project will provide a seismic retrofit to that bridge. Most of the work will be underneath the bridge, and it won’t impact traffic much.
Linn County owns and operates several covered bridges as part of its road system, Lane said. Among them are Short Bridge, Shimanek Bridge, Gilke Bridge on Gore Road outside of Scio, Hannah Bridge on Camp Morrison Drive off Highway 226 between Scio and Lyons, Hoffman Bridge near Crabtree and Larwood Bridge on Fish Hatchery Drive near Scio and Roaring River Campground.
Linn County also maintains Crawfordsville Bridge in Crawfordsville, southwest of Sweet Home along Highway 228. The bridge is not open to vehicles.
The city of Sweet Home maintains Weddle Bridge at Sankey Park.