Wednesday, October 3, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
RESTORATION: Bridge
plan includes ‘bump
outs’ for traffic
Continued from page 1
for both entities. The UDWC
wants to eliminate the current
conditions along the creek,
which cause erosion of the
banks and damage to the ripar-
ian areas. They also want to
improve the conditions for the
passage of fish and in-stream
aquatic habitat.
The City needs to protect
the 12-inch sanitary sewer
mainline which is currently
hanging on the upstream side
of the Locust Street bridge,
leaving it vulnerable to dam-
age from vandalism, debris or
ice jams floating downstream,
and vehicle traffic.
With the installation of the
new ADA bathroom in the
campground, the City also
wants to make the pedestrian
bridge ADA compliant. The
current approaches to the
bridge have steep grades, mak-
ing use by someone in a wheel-
chair or with limited mobility
very difficult if not impos-
sible (see story, page 18).
A 10-inch PVC gravity-fed
sanitary sewer line is buried
underneath the creek between
the footbridge and US 20. A
four-foot concrete cap was
installed on top of the PVC
line to help protect it from
erosive forces in the creek.
Since the cap was installed in
2001, the surrounding stream-
bed material has been scoured
away and two feet of the cap
rise above the streambed, cre-
ating a fish barrier and hazard
to the creek and creek users.
There are a number of alter-
natives for modifying the cap
and/or its surroundings to
improve fish passage.
The creek also lacks in-
stream complexity, which can
be important for regulating
water temperature, a neces-
sary factor for returning fish.
Complexity, created by adding
boulders and V-shaped weirs
to create small pools, and
stream bank rootwad clusters
also provide biodiversity and
aquatic habitat.
Heavy use of Creekside
Park and the campground has
led to degraded conditions of
Whychus Creek and its banks.
Campers and park visitors
have created numerous creek
access points. Combined with
localized scour and erosion,
various locations within the
project reach are in need of
bank restoration.
One highly visible area of
bank failure began about five
years ago on the northern creek
bank near the concrete cap of
the sewer line. The spot is cur-
rently marked with orange
construction fencing to keep
visitors from the eroded bank.
Approximately 10 feet of
bank recession has occurred.
Once the renovation work
is completed, the creek bank
on both sides will be planted
with native plants to increase
long-term bank stability and
eventually disguise the resto-
ration work. Combining split-
rail fencing, controlled access
points, signage, and revegeta-
tion will hopefully help con-
trol foot traffic along creek
banks and prevent further
user-created bank degradation.
The pedestrian foot-
bridge across Whychus Creek
between the park and the
campground is about 40 feet
long with a five-foot-wide
covered wood walkway sup-
ported by two 26-inch-diam-
eter tamarack logs that came
from Green Ridge and were
donated to the project in 1999.
The structure sits on grouted
rockery abutments on concrete
footings.
The location of the abut-
ments creates a constriction
or pinch-point in the active
creek channel. Scouring and
undermining by the creek’s
accelerated flow between the
abutments is occurring under
the north abutment, although
there doesn’t appear to be
any imminent danger to the
bridge’s stability.
The bridge foundations,
wing walls, and approach
ramps were reportedly con-
structed by the Civilian
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Conservation Corps in either
1939 or 1941. Sometime in
the middle of the 20th cen-
tury a bridge utilizing the
abutments was built. In 1999,
as a Boy Scout project, the
bridge was rebuilt. The origi-
nal design called for a true
covered bridge with sidewalls
containing windows. The plan
was revised to include the
open sides visible today.
The historic nature of
parts of the bridge places it
under the purview of the State
Historic Preservation Office
(SHPO). As the design of the
new approaches advances,
SHPO reps will determine the
extent of mitigation required
for changes made.
The existing bridge deck,
at five feet wide, is adequate
for light pedestrian traffic, but
during events, bicycle use, and
use by dog-walkers, the space
can be restrictive, especially
when people stop to enjoy the
view of the creek. The con-
cept design proposes adding
two-foot wide “bump-outs”
on either side of the bridge
to accommodate users who
would like to pause on the
bridge.
To address all these issues,
the City and UDWC have
secured grants to hire the
consultant that produced the
conceptual designs presented
to Council and will provide
the final design, A 50 percent
design package should be
ready by December 12, 2018
and the final design completed
by January or February 2019.
The initial concept drawings
can be viewed at the City
of Sisters website: https://
www.ci.sisters.or.us/com-
munity-development/page/
activeprojects.
19
Man arrested after
‘road rage’ incident
A Bend man was arrested
last week for Unlawful Use of
a Weapon, Pointing a Firearm
at Another, Recklessly
Endangering and Reckless
Driving after a “road rage”
incident on Highway 20 in
the Tumalo area.
On Thursday, September
20, at 4:30 p.m., Deschutes
County Sheriff ’s Office
Deputies responded to 911
reports of a white Chevrolet
Suburban driving east-
bound on Highway 20 west
at Dayton Road. Deschutes
911 was told by victims that
the driver, Hawkens Mclean
Hazelton, age 22 of Bend,
was pointing a gun at other
drivers.
According to the sher-
iff’s office, the investiga-
tion revealed that Hazelton
was driving recklessly on
Highway 20 and began chal-
lenging other drivers to fight
with hand gestures, physical
threats, and dangerous driv-
ing. At one point during the
incident, investigators report,
Hazelton began pointing a
9mm semi-automatic pistol
out of the Suburban windows
toward another driver. No
shots were fired and no inju-
ries were sustained.
A Bend Police officer
located Hazelton’s Suburban
on Highway 20 as he
approached Bend. DCSO
deputies and Bend Police
officers stopped the Suburban
and conducted a high-risk
traffic stop at Highway 20
and Old Bend Redmond
Highway. Highway 20 was
closed briefly during the
stop to protect the public and
DCSO deputies.
Hazelton was arrested
on the charges listed above.
He was later lodged in the
Deschutes County Adult Jail.
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