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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015
BRIDGES OF PACIFIC COUNTY
A century-long legacy of linking communities together
By NATALIE ST. JOHN
EO Media Group
PACIFIC COUNTY, Wash.
— In 1916, French and German
troops waged the longest battle
of the Great War. In Russia, no-
bles poisoned, then shot, then
beat, and then drowned Grigory
Rasputin, a notoriously wicked
Russian “Holy-man” and ad-
viser to the royal family who
proved to be surprisingly dif-
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away, Mexican revolutionary
Pancho Villa fought U.S. sol-
diers for control of modern-day
New Mexico.
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was also a momentous year, but
in a very different way: It was
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of the 60 bridges that still serve
FRQWHPSRUDU\ 3DFL¿F &RXQW\
residents.
In a state known for its many
waterways, bridges play an
essential, if unsung role in the
economy. They connect iso-
lated local communities to one
another, and to the rest of the
state. They bring resources and
opportunity to locals by making
modern commerce possible. But
they also demand a lot of re-
sources: Local and state public
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monitor aging infrastructure to
prevent calamities like the May
2013 Skagit River Bridge col-
lapse.
There is never enough mon-
ey or manpower to do major
repairs or replacements, so of-
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balancing-act, trying to keep all
Damian Mulinix — EO Media Group
60 bridges maintained, so they
South Nemah River Bridge, located on Lynn Point Road, built in 1959, rated 50. In theory, anything below an 80 qualifies
never need to be replaced.
for county-owned bridges is
about 82. “That’s really good.
I’d stack our state up against
anybody in the 50 states. I think
ZH GR D YHU\ ¿QH MRE´ 2OVHQ
said.
Recently, FHWA changed
its recommendations, saying
that more older bridges should
have load-limits than previously
thought. That led the county to
recently add new weight-limit
signs to a number of local bridg-
es. But that’s not a sign that the
bridges are deteriorating, Col-
lins said. It’s just a precautionary
measure.
‘Remarkably
good shape’
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bridges are in “remarkably good
shape.” Currently, only a small
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below 75. That’s partly because
during the 1990s, the county
rebuilt a large number of aging
timber and steel bridges that
were mostly built in the 1940s,
’50s and ’60s.
“We really pushed hard to
replace a lot of those struc-
tures. That put us in pretty good
shape,” Collins said.
Collins said inspectors look
for wear and tear on the deck
— the part you drive on — and
sometimes decide to resurface
cracked or chipping surface
materials. They also look at the
arches, spanners foundations.
Some bridges need to be seis-
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prevent sagging or collapse.
If the foundation of a bridge
is crumbling, or has been
scoured away by the constant
motion of debris in rushing wa-
for repairs, and anything below a 40 “bears some careful watching.”
ter, “There’s not a lot you can
Era of stout bridges
do,” Olsen said.
During a two-year period settlements that were only ac- according to Walt Olsen, and which local authorities use to bridges. A bridge that is “Func-
The feds will generally only
from 1916 to 1917, workers cessible by boat, or long over- engineer with the County Roads rate bridges, during required tionally Obsolete” is usually too pay to replace bridges, not to
poured four concrete “Luten land routes. Communities that Advisory Board, a state agency LQVSHFWLRQV&ROOLQVVDLG3DFL¿F narrow to meet modern stan- repair them. CRAB has very
Arch” bridges, spanning the FRXOGQ¶W HI¿FLHQWO\ JHW JRRGV that oversees management of County DPW workers inspect dards. It might have only one limited money for certain types
Willapa River, Fern Creek, in or out sometimes got left county-owned infrastructure. most bridges once every two land, or it might have just been of repairs and maintenance, but
Green Creek and the slough behind of the growing nation- Olsen and his colleagues pro- years, but they look at the sev- built before the advent of F-350s most money has to come from
on modern-day Heckard Road. al economy. For citizens of vide support to public works en remaining timber bridges and Hummer. But it’s not neces- local taxes. That means Collins
and his crew must carefully pri-
With graceful, curving span- the time, the bridge-building staff, including Collins. They every year, because they are the sarily dangerous, Olsen said.
ners, those bridges were a boom of 1916 and 1917 must also publish yearly reports, least structurally-sound. They
A bridge that is “Struc- oritize state and locally-funded
bellwether of the era’s rapid- have seemed like a sign that 65 evaluating the quality of coun- also inspect bridges as-needed WXUDOO\ 'H¿FLHQW´ LVQ¶W EXLOW maintenance projects, to be sure
ly evolving technologies and years after it was founded, the ty-owned bridges, roads and after major weather events like to modern weight standards. the bridges stay in good working
culture. An Indiana engineer county was becoming more es- culverts. Compliance with the ÀRRGV
³7KHEULGJHLVLQ¿QHVKDSHDV condition.
and professor named Daniel tablished.
But Collins says decid-
long as you don’t overload it.
CRAB standards ensures that
Grading old structures Load is a very key issue here ing to repair an old bridge can
B. Luten had designed and pat-
The Luten bridges have counties will continue to qual-
At CRAB, each bridge re- — that’s what causes collapses sometimes be “a double-edged
ented a new type of concrete proven to be both lovely and ify for state fuel tax revenues
bridge with a curving arch and stout — they may be old, but — a vital source of funding for FHLYHV D ³VXI¿FLHQF\ UDWLQJ´ and failures,” Olsen said. Those sword.” Some aging bridges
ÀDW XSSHU GHFN /XWHQ$UFK they’ve held up better than some public works projects.
between zero and 100, based bridges often need to be posted don’t meet modern needs, but
bridges were popular because newer bridges made from other
“That’s a lot of money to a on data from the county bridge with weight-limits, but as long are so sturdy they’ll probably
they were easier to replicate, materials, according to Pacif- lot of counties, so everybody inspections. A higher rating as people obey the load limits, never qualify for replacement.
used a widely available mate- ic County Director of Public pretty much toes the mark on all means a bridge complies with they’re safe, Olsen said.
If the county makes repairs that
rial, and could accommodate Works Mike Collins. He’s the of these standards,” Olsen said modern design standards. In
He cautions that neither the LPSURYH WKH VXI¿FLHQF\ UDWLQJ
the increasing use of motor man in charge of inspecting in a phone interview.
theory, anything below an 80 age of the bridge or those labels for a bridge that would other-
vehicles. Luten claimed that by county bridges, and making sure
Guidelines about how to TXDOL¿HV IRU UHSDLUV DQG DQ\- can determine which bridges wise qualify for federal replace-
1919, he had designed about that each is maintained to state manage bridges are heavily in- thing below a 40 “bears some are vulnerable on their own. ment money, it could get stuck
17,000 bridges, which could and federal standards.
ÀXHQFHG E\ WKH 8QLWHG 6WDWHV FDUHIXOZDWFKLQJ´DQGTXDOL¿HV For example, the Skagit River with an inadequate bridge that
be found in all but three states,
“Those are structurally Department of Transportation, for replacement, Olsen said. In %ULGJHZDVQ¶WVWUXFWXUDOO\GH¿- will always need expensive
according to Purdue University sound. They look like heck and and Federal Highway Adminis- reality, shrinking budgets mean cient — it just wasn’t designed maintenance.
records.
“He’s got to look at that
they’re narrow and such, but tration, which sets safety stan- a rating alone will not guar- to withstand the impact of a gi-
According to the U.S. Cen- they’re just so stout because of dards, and also decides which antee a project gets funded, ant semi crashing into the over- and make his best judgment to
sus Bureau, about a quarter of the way that they’re built,” Col- bridge-related projects get fed- and the process is increasingly head structures — few bridges his board about which bridge
should be put forward for fund-
3DFL¿F &RXQW\¶V VTXDUH lins said.
competitive.
are.
eral money.
miles are under water. In the
There are two other desig-
Statewide, there are about
In Washington, Olsen said ing,” Olsen said. “It’s a compet-
FWHA has devised a com-
early days, there were local 3,300 county-owned bridges, plex safety-rating system, nations for aging or poorly-built WKH DYHUDJH VXI¿FLHQF\ UDWLQJ itive thing.”
Damian Mulinix — EO Media Group
Damian Mulinix — EO Media Group
Damian Mulinix — EO Media Group
The South Fork Naselle River Bridge, located on South
Valley Road, built in 1965, rated a 60.
The Church Bridge, located on Trask Road, built in 1992,
rated an 80.
The Davis Creek bridge on Knappton Road in Naselle,
built in 1963, is rated a 50.
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NEWS
County makes a splash
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BOAT OF THE MONTH
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