The New Big Creek Bridge Demonstrates the Power of Partnerships
McCall, ID - The newest bridge in the Payette National Forest (PNF) spans 80 feet over Big Creek near Edwardsburg, Idaho, a popular entrance to the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness.
The new Big Creek Bridge replaces a drivable ford through Big Creek used by the public and private landowners since the 1920s. Two cranes were trucked in to lift and lower the four bridge components into place.
In the early 1990s, regulatory agencies and the Payette N. F. identified the Big Creek Ford as detrimental to spawning fish and their nests, which are called “redds” and other resident fish populations. The regulatory agencies asked the PNF to remedy the situation, but funding, land ownership, and logistical issues hampered the project. So the Forest began a lengthy process to develop a bridge design and identify a different route and crossing site that would serve various private and recreational access needs, while at the same time protecting sensitive fish habitat. This area provides access to the Lick Creek/Cougar Basin Trail #004, a popular gateway into the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness; it is also used by private landowners in Edwardsburg to access to their property on the other side of Big Creek.
The new trailhead for Lick Creek/Cougar Basin Trail #004 features horse tie-offs, adequate turnarounds for trailers, and will include interpretive signs in the future.
The PNF analyzed several routes and potential bridge sites to eliminate the ford and provide an access solution. The greatest problem was securing enough funding to pay for a bridge large enough to fully span the meandering Big Creek. In addition, it was evident that the Forest would require easements across private property to provide legal public access into the Wilderness area from a new crossing site. Substantial rehabilitation work would also be required to reclaim the ford area, which is legally designated as critical habitat for Chinook salmon; the former road, and trailhead in addition to construction work to create a new road and trailhead at the new location.
The solution to this multifaceted issue was found in developing partnerships with a variety of organizations. The Nez Perce Tribe stepped forward to provide the bulk of needed funding for bridge design and construction. Along with their own funds and personnel contributions, the Tribe applied for and was awarded two grants from the Bonneville Power Association and the Pacific Coast Salmon Recovery Fund for a total of $275,000. In addition, Valley County and the PNF secured a 2011 Southwest Resource Advisory Committee (SWIRAC) grant for $100,000. Also, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) secured a grant of $10,000 to pay for the rehabilitation of the old ford and other habitat improvement projects at the site. Last but not least, nearby landowners provided right of way easements that allowed the PNF to secure public access across private land so that Trail #004 could be re-routed. Nancy Kozlowski, owner of the Neal Ranch, donated an easement for the Lick Creek/Cougar Basin Trail across the northern edge of her property. The new road leading from the bridge to the Lick Creek Trail has been named in honor of Nancy’s mother. The new road is called the Rose Marie Neal Road.
The former road to the ford was causing resource damage and needed to be rehabilitated to a foot path.
The new pre-fabricated steel bridge is self-weathering and has a wooden deck. A mechanically stabilized earthen wall serves as an abutment on one side of the bridge while the other one is made of pre-cast concrete. The new 80 foot long bridge spans a stream channel that is 40 feet wide and was designed to withstand a 100 year flood event. During construction and design extra care was taken to minimize impacts to Big Creek and its banks.
The bridge and its associated parts were trucked to the site in 4 pieces, along with two cranes that were needed to put the pieces together. The construction project took 3 weeks to complete with construction crews camping out near the construction site. The project included installation of the new bridge, and a new road and trail/trailhead into and out of the bridge location. Kesler Construction of McCall, ID installed the bridge and constructed the new road. RTI Bridge out of Plains, Montana supplied the steel bridge and subcontracted Oldcastle Precast out of Nampa, ID to supply the concrete.
The new trail where the full size road used to be. FWS provided funding for the plants and watershed crew time to transform the area into a pleasant hiking experience.
The PNF is proud to have facilitated these highly effective partnerships to complete a project of this scale and complexity. The real winners in all this are the Chinook salmon, steelhead, bull trout, and other native fishes residing in Big Creek. Though this project may have taken a while to accomplish, once set in motion, things fell into place quickly so that this long-standing resource issue could be resolved to the benefit of fish, the recreating public, and nearby landowners. The Krassel Ranger District and the PNF Engineering Section thanks all of the partners for their perseverance and generosity during the last two years. The Forest also thanks the contractors who did an excellent job in challenging circumstances.