Bridge restrictions hit Willow Creek homeowners

Oct. 10, 2006

By JODI SNYDER

Frontiersman correspondent

WILLOW - Living along Willow Creek can be an adventure, a fact reinforced during a recent flood in the area.

But if you live across Willow Creek, like a handful of families off Hatcher Pass Road, it can be even more of a challenge.

As winter approaches, those who live on the north side of Shirley Towne Bridge are getting a little anxious, especially after learning the only bridge that allows them access to their homes has been load restricted.

Bob Field first heard about the restrictions when he got a call from his propane delivery guy, saying they no longer would be able to deliver fuel across the bridge.

Field was alarmed.

&#8220We can still drive back and forth over the bridge every day in our vehicles, but we are unable to get fuel and propane delivered, and if there were an emergency, we'd be stranded,” said Field.

According to Mat-Su Borough Road Maintenance Superintendent Mike Lachelt, the state Department of Transportation is the only agency in Alaska that rates bridges.

&#8220The state just decertified it down to 3 tons,” Lachelt said.

Contractors working for the borough have been busy in the area since the September flood, removing the old Deneki Bridge, located downstream from Shirley Towne Bridge. Deneki Bridge once offered an alternate route across the creek, but had been closed for several years, also for safety reasons, before it washed into the creek during the flood.

&#8220We were tasked in the flood recovery plan to remove the bridge out of the live stream,” Lachelt said.

But the borough work did not include repairs or improvements to Shirley Towne Bridge.

Richard Pratt, DOT Chief Bridge Engineer, said from Juneau that his agency is responsible for setting the restrictions.

&#8220We inspect every publicly owned bridge every two years, and based on what we see, if the bridge is not strong enough, we'll go ahead and send a posting notice to the borough,” said Pratt.

&#8220Things wear out as they get older, so we are always looking at the structural integrity of the bridge and whether it is safe to carry legal loads. When we post restrictions, it's a safety issue. This isn't done arbitrarily.”

Pratt said that the Department of Natural Resources Forestry division is planning to repair the bridge, and has been discussing it with DOT since April 2005. The proposed work is unrelated to activity from the recent flooding, he said.

&#8220It has to do with a planned timber harvest,” he said, adding it is a good thing DNR is able to come up with the funds to do the work.

According to Pratt, in order to facilitate the timber harvest and the hauling out of materials, DNR will be upgrading the bridge.

In late September, DNR sent a copy of its plans to the borough for review.

Rick Jandreau, Resource Forester with DNR in Palmer, said the agency plans to retrofit the bridge to make sure it meets the weight for trucks working in the area during the timber harvest.

&#8220It's in the works now,” Jandreau said. &#8220We are hoping to complete the project this fall or early winter. We are in the process of ordering materials, getting bids. We have the money and we are working on it.”

No firm timeline or cost estimates were given.

No one informed the families who live beyond the Shirley Towne Bridge that they would be unable to get fuel deliveries or other services in the meantime.

With advance notice, the families say they could have been better prepared for the restrictions.