Friday, March 25, 2005

Concrete removed from fish stream

Land Trust restoration project requires heavy lifting

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By MATT FURBER
Express Staff Writer

Crews attached a power jackhammer to an excavator to pound the most stubborn portions of an old bridge abutment that was removed from the west side of the Big Wood River, upstream of the existing Bullion Street bridge that connects Hailey to Croy Canyon. The Wood River Land Trust riparian restoration project, which included the removal of the old graffiti covered bridge abutment adjacent to the existing Bullion Street bridge, exposed a few historical treasures, including these old bottles. Bill Kyes and Mike Chipp sift through the rubble of the bridge abutment removal inspecting the debris for any good finds. River rocks anyone? Photo by David N. Seelig

Although it's not a sensitive archeological project, the removal of the old bridge abutment on the west side of the Big Wood River is intended to protect the existing Bullion Street bridge and lead to riparian restoration and fish habitat improvements.

The project is producing some interesting artifacts, however, as digging exposes old bottles and cans (possibly for whiskey and other potions). The work also exposed old timbers from the original bridge construction, said Wood River Land Trust Project Manager Kate Giese. The project was conceived and organized by former Land Trust Project Manager Stef Frenzl who recently moved to Washington state.

"Stef did the background work. I get the glory of seeing the thing come out," Giese said, happy that the weather began to dry out as the removal project began to reach the final stages, Thursday. "There were also a lot of pipes that were used for running water from the Democrat Hot Springs to the old Hiawatha Hotel."

Excavators also found an old 1940 Idaho license plate with the slogan "Celebrating 50 years of statehood."

"The project is going really well," Giese said. "It's going a lot easier than we thought. The county has been a great partner on this. They waived all permitting fees and the bridge and road crew is using their trucks to take all the steel and concrete to dump."

Soil and fill material is being used for a project on River Street.

Parts of the abutment have been stubborn, however. With a powerful jackhammer attached to an excavator, workers pounded the one end of the abutment to break it loose, while other parts of the structure broke away easily, Giese said. "It was pretty soft. It confirms it was a good project to do because it was probably not very stable, posing a risk to the existing bridge."

Thursday afternoon crews planned to remove a mass of concrete about 50 feet upstream of the abutment where workers once cleaned out their trucks.

Several different agencies have been partners on the project including the Department of Environmental Quality and Wood River Conservation and Development, who is planning to help with planting native shrubs and grasses in addition to willow trees, beginning April 23, the day after Earth Day.

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"It is an Earth Day project," said Land Trust spokesman, Dan Gilmore. "We will be looking for volunteers."

The Flood Control District is also a partner on the project and agreed to contribute $12,000 Thursday, about one third of the cost of the project, which will include irrigation of new plantings until they are established, Gilmore said. He added that the root ball and trunk of an old willow tree will be placed in the river to create a new pool for added fish habitat in place of the old structure.