Wednesday, June 1, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
25
New bridge installed on the McKenzie River Trail
By Craig F. Eisenbeis
Correspondent
The popular McKenzie
River Trail has a new replace-
ment bridge upstream of
Sahalie Falls.
“It was nearing the end of
its lifespan and was starting
to rot,” said Tyson Cross, rec-
reation trails specialist for the
Willamette National Forest.
“It needed repair, and a new
one seemed to be the best
option.”
Funding became available
through a federal grant from
the Recreation Trails Program
(RTP). Cross explained that
the RTP grant funds are chan-
neled through the states, so
the projects can be locally
assigned and managed. In
Oregon, the managing agency
is the Oregon Recreation and
Parks Department.
The previous bridge
was simply a big log fitted
with handrails for safety.
The new bridge surface is
both wider and flatter; and
the new design is a signifi-
cant upgrade, especially for
cyclists.
According to Cross, the
new bridge is a double-girder,
glue-laminated structure that
typically has a lifespan of
more than 50 years. After
the girders were put in place,
Forest Service representative
Wayne Chevalier said the
bridge was mostly assembled
on site.
“We opted to go with the
ramp approaches,” Cross said,
“because we manage it as a
Class 4 bike trail that is open
to hiking, backpacking and
mountain bikes. It is closed to
horses.”
National Forest trails are
classed from one to five, but
classification is more closely
linked to trail work and main-
tenance than degree of diffi-
culty. Generally, Class 1 trails
have the fewest improve-
ments and refinements. The
very fact that this trail has
a bridge puts it in a higher
class.
Ramp construction was
completed last week, and the
new bridge is now open for
public use. Much of the fin-
ishing work, including the
ramps, was performed by
workers from Lane County
Youth Services, a work
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photo by craiG eisenbeis
A new double-girder replacement bridge has been installed on the McKenzie River Trail upstream of Sahalie Falls.
program designed to provide
opportunities for “adjudicated
youth.”
“It’s part of the sher-
iff’s work program,” Cross
explained. “The pro-
gram is very helpful to
us.”
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