Friday, March 18, 2005

River abutment removal approved

Riparian flora and fauna restoration planned


By MATT FURBER
Express Staff Writer

After 120 years, the old Bullion Street bridge abutment, upstream of the existing bridge that crosses the Wood River from Hailey city limits to Croy Canyon in the county, will be removed next week. Long a graffiti template, the plan for the imposing environmental and civil engineering risk is to excavate it in one fell swoop and truck it to the Ohio Gulch dump.

Once the concrete fossil adjacent to the existing bridge is razed, the remaining riparian area will be restored with native vegetation.

The Blaine County Board of Commissioners granted a stream alteration permit, Tuesday, March 15, to remove the old bridge abutment. The project is scheduled to begin Tuesday, March 22.

Grant money from the state and the EPA will help pay for restoration of the portion of land located on the west side of the Big Wood River adjacent to Carbonate Mountain. It is owned by the Deer Creek Foundation. The bridge abutment is currently on the Deer Creek property.

Near the remnant of the 1890 bridge is also a "cow pie" of excess concrete. It was dropped on the site during previous construction projects, said Jay Sevy, Deer Creek ranch manager. Sevy acted as a conduit between the owner of the ranch, Donald Bren, and the Wood River Land Trust, who proposed the restoration project under the leadership of former project manager Stef Frenzl. "The work will improve the aesthetic value of the land and there is some danger of the abutment getting washed down river in high water," Sevy said.

If the hunk of concrete were to dislodge from the riverbank there is some risk that it could damage the existing bridge or other property if current stream flow were to be pushed to the east side of the river, Sevy said. "It's a mess. There is a lot of spilled excess cement. It'll look a lot nicer."

In addition to plant restoration, the project includes some improvements to fish habitat at the point in the river where the abutment is to be removed. Grant money from the state and EPA will help to pay for the restoration, said Wood River Land Trust Spokesman Dan Gilmore. "S. Erwin Excavation is going to remove the abutment. They plan to dig a big trench behind it and pull it out as one big piece. They will crunch the existing gravel to be used for road construction. They will recycle what they can."




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