The temporary Bailey bridge pictured above was removed in 2011 by the Washington State Department of Transportation after standing as a replacement to the Leudinghaus Bridge — which was wiped out during the floods of December 2007 — for nearly four years. Construction will soon begin on a permanent replacement.
Lewis County drivers have no doubt noticed orange construction signs popping up in the area. Soon, those signs and flaggers will be out on county roads for summer construction projects, too.
Lewis County Director of Public Works Tim Elsea said contracted construction crews will soon be continuing two projects and beginning others.
The biggest project this summer, Elsea said, is the replacement of the Leudinghaus Bridge in the Doty-Dryad area about 15 miles west of Chehalis. Parts for the steel truss bridge are being put together now in the Seattle area. Crews will then haul it down to be constructed in July or August.
The new bridge will replace one that washed out in the 2007 flood about 0.25 miles downstream from the project site. The county spent about $300,000 designing a replacement bridge where the original washed out; however, after talking with residents, it was determined the bridge would better serve the community in a different location.
“So it’s a brand new bridge in a new location,” Elsea said.
The county will actually save the $300,000 it previously spent because the new location decreases the cost. Road improvements, including new access onto state Route 6 and an intersection reconfiguration at Hatchery Road, have already been completed. About 87.5 percent of the project is funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Washington State Emergency Management Division. The county is paying about 12.5 percent of the project’s cost.
A gravel 2.2-mile portion of King Road is scheduled to be paved this summer. The project was originally introduced in 2002, but flooding and other priorities delayed the project.
“We’ve had to get extensions on this project, and we’re finally going in and just finishing it up,” Elsea said.
The delay has led to some complaints from area residents, but “people haven’t been clammering,” Elsea said.
Crews have previously improved alignments, installed culverts and ditches and widened the road. Work this summer should be completed in late July or early August.
The total cost is $2.8 million, with $1 million from the Rural Arterial Program from the County Road Administration Board and the rest from the county.
The county has four projects on its 3R Program list — which stands for restoration, resurfacing and rehabilitation. Crews will improve the base section of three roads by combining ground asphalt and cement, which sets similar to concrete. A layer of rock is added and then the roads are chipsealed or paved.
Roads getting the treatment are 1.8 miles of Boone Road in Toledo, 1.2 miles of Cinebar Road in Cinebar and 0.6 of a mile of Isbell Road in Mossyrock.
About 0.6 of a mile of Roundtree Road in Curtis is getting stabilization work done, Elsea said.
The county’s 3R program roads are drawing about $800,000 from county funds and $460,000 from the County Arterial Preservation Program from the board. The projects will start in late June or early July and be completed by the end of August.
Another 0.1 of a mile section of Roundtree Road is getting moved to stable ground.
“There was a slide that happened lots of years ago, actually,” Elsea said. “There are only a couple houses on that road, and so we’re just moving the road away from (the water).”
Elsea is hoping to do work on Davis Creek Road turnarounds between Randle and Packwood off of U.S. Highway 12. The road’s bridge washed out during the 2006 flood.
Instead of replacing the bridge, crews will improve access on U.S. Highway 12 and put in turnarounds. Elsea said it’s a short distance to go around on U.S. Highway 12, and the funds from FEMA allow the county to use the money in an alternative way instead of replacing the bridge to today’s standards.
The county has also purchased a modular bridge that can be put in if needed.
The county is working to acquire right of way for the project from private property owners and the U.S. Forest Service. If right of way acquisition doesn’t go smoothly, the project may be pushed back to 2016, Elsea said.
