Road closure meansroad is closed

Wahkiakum County officials and Beaver Creek Road residents learned this week that they will not be allowed to walk across the A.G. Hanson Bridge while it is raised.

County commissioners awarded the contract for the project last week. Tuesday, they approved a closure of the road from August 5 through November 13 for construction. They had hoped that people living up Beaver Creek Road would be able to walk across the bridge to vehicles parked along the Elochoman Valley Road to avoid having to drive to Mill Creek and then head back along SR 4 to Cathlamet.

However, at a pre-construction conference last Thursday with the contractor, Five Rivers Construction, they learned that there will be no pedestrian access for the public.

The contractor's insurance carrier said there's too much liability danger, commissioners reported Tuesday. The only access allowed will be to emergency service responders.

Commission Chair Dan Cothren said emergency service personnel will park an ambulance and a fire truck at the Beaver Creek Hatchery so they can respond to calls up Beaver Creek Road.

Five Rivers will raise the bridge, replace a beam underneath the deck, and realign the approaches. Officials hope the higher bridge will not sustain the damage during freshets that the bridge currently experiences.

Commissioners Dan Cothren, Blair Brady and Lisa Marsyla said they all had taken phone calls from people hoping for a public crossing route.

Cothren added that the river channel is too wide for the county's temporary bridge, and it would take a year to get through the permit process to use it.

"We'll have to hold on and put up with this for a few months," Cothren said. "It would add $100,000 to the project cost."

Public Works Director Pete Ringen said no one suggested using a temporary bridge, so it wasn't included in planning and design.

"This is a major pain; we acknowledge that," Brady said. He suggested Ringen try to negotiate some sort of waiver for area residents, and that the road be closed only when work has started.

Ringen said he would talk to the contractor about those issues.

Ringen said he scheduled the work as soon as possible to avoid winter weather when snow and ice would make the high, east end of Beaver Creek Road treacherous.

The board and concerned citizens discussed some possible alternatives: Cothren said EMS personnel tested logging roads and found them to be slower than driving around to Mill Creek, and they're not passable for passenger cars; a boat to ferry people was suggested, but Cothren said the low water made that a difficult rocky route.

Cothren did say that people might be able to hike along an old logging railroad from the hatchery to Kent's Bridge and access the Elochoman Valley Road.

Marsyla said she would meet with interested citizens to explore that possible path.

Ringen did have good news for the commissioners: The state County Road Administration Board agreed to cover the county's portion of the construction cost through emergency funding, so state and federal sources will completely finance the project.