County bridges evaluated

Public Works Director Pete Ringen presented the annual bridge inspection report to the county board of commissioners and described plans to improve low rated bridges.

Ringen reviewed plans to address the four bridges with low sufficiency ratings.

The August Hanson Bridge over the Elochoman River at Beaver Creek Road had a 73.02 sufficiency rating, the report said. Ringen noted that the county is calling for bids this week to raise the bridge and repair a damaged girder.

The ramp to the ferry at the Puget Island ferry landing is classified as a bridge; its rating was 45.07. Ringen plans to call for bids to replace the ramp and enlarge the approach this winter.

The East Valley Road bridge over Wilson Creek had a rating of 59.77, Ringen said.

"The bridge may be a future candidate for federal Bridge Replacement Advisory Committee funding to repair or replace the deck or make other improvements," he said.

Further up East Valley Road, a culvert over a tributary creek has washed out three times in recent winter freshets. Federal Emergency Management Disaster funds aren't sufficient to install a larger culvert meeting Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife standards, "so the only thing we could do is replace it with what has been there before," Ringen said.

The Grays River Covered Bridge had the lowest rating, 43.21, but that is mainly because of its unique construction. The county recently completed work to repair the roof and replace decaying timbers.