A section of Colorado Gulch Road that was washed out by heavy spring flooding in May will be repaired before this spring's runoff.
The road, which travels through an easement on property owned by Grant Stevens, crosses the Big Wood River via a bridge near the base of Della Mountain southwest of Hailey.
The county's primary concern is that if the road is not repaired the bridge could be severely damaged by water and debris. The road, by nature of its position, helped confine the river in the main channel.
"We need to repair the road to make sure the river doesn't wash around Colorado Gulch Bridge," Blaine County Commissioner Tom Bowman said at a Tuesday commission meeting. "If we don't do something before next spring the river could wash all the way around the bridge, establish a new channel and we'd have the bridge in the middle of the river."
Bowman said new bridges cost $200 to $500 per square foot, "so we're not going to let that bridge get isolated."
The road, which snakes south along the eastern bank of the Big Wood River before crossing the bridge and heading west up the gulch, will be repaired to allow sheet flooding to occur without damaging the road base. Dale Shappee, supervisor of the Blaine County Road and Bridge Department, said the new road "will in no way raise the elevation of what was existing prior."
Commissioners Bowman and Dennis Wright approved the project, and Commissioner Sarah Michael was absent. The Tuesday decision was made pending the receipt of an Idaho Department of Water Resources permit. The Army Corps of Engineers has already granted a permit for the project.
Shappee said if he had both permits in hand he would "start next week."
A half-dozen motorized recreation advocates attended Tuesday's hearing to defend their access to Colorado Gulch Road, which connects the Wood River Valley to Croy Canyon. The road is also used by hikers and mountain bikers.
Bowman said earlier this month that a few citizens had attempted to organize efforts to shut off motorized access to the gulch. But he said "the county holds public motorized access in high regard" and "we have no intention of closing the road to motorized access at this time."
Colorado Gulch Road, southwest of Hailey near the base of Della Mountain, will be repaired to save a bridge crossing the Big Wood River. Photo by David N. Seelig
