Link Creek Bridge to be replaced

The Link Creek Bridge has been closed due to rot in one of its supports. photo by Jeff McCaulou

The Link Creek Bridge at Suttle Lake has seen its last days.

This three-span bridge built in 1991 has rot, due to moisture, along one of its stringers. The rot is beyond repair and has made the structural integrity of the bridge questionable, according to the Forest Service.

The bridge has been closed.

Paul Engstrom of the Deschutes National Forest said that it is more likely that the bridge could collapse from the weight of snow rather than foot traffic, but just to be safe they've taken the necessary precautions.

A crew from the Youth Conservation Corps noticed the rot in mid-summer of 2003. The YCC crew was installing new decking to the bridge when they made the discovery.

According to Engstrom, "The rot was not obvious from the outside."

Later, Forest Service engineers evaluated the damage and deemed the bridge unusable.

The construction of the bridge involves three stringers which run lengthwise; decking is fastened to them in a perpendicular fashion, providing the surface of the bridge. Each section of the three-span bridge has its own network of support cribbings, which in the middle section go to the bottom of the stream.

The entire bridge is made of Douglas fir. The rotting stringer is crucial to the overall structural integrity of the bridge.

A new bridge is planned for this coming summer, to be installed before Memorial Day.

"We have to get the funding together first, which will probably come from small CIPs: capital investment projects," Engstrom said. "This money is allocated by priority, so we'll have to see where the money is needed most."