HASSO HERING

The 6-ton load limit keeps fire trucks and ambulances from crossing the Cox Creek bridge on Salem Avenue.

Five years ago Albany applied for a state grant to fix the Salem Avenue bridge over Cox Creek. Now the project has taken on new urgency, and the city has contracted with Wildish Standard Paving to do the work.

The problem is under the concrete bridge, with the abutments and the spillway of the weir that forms Waverly Lake. Engineers call it scouring, which evidently amounts to water undermining the structure.

Making the fix suddenly is urgent. Last month, ODOT told the city to impose a 6-ton load limit on the bridge, which was built in 1940. The load limit took effect on Sept. 4.

That’s a problem because Albany’s fire trucks and ambulances are heavier than that. Avoiding the bridge on Salem may mean longer response times for alarms in that part of town.

Because of the urgency, the city obtained an emergency in-water work permit from the state and awarded Wildish the contract to fix the bridge for $351,632. The firm submitted the lowest of  four bids opened on Sept. 5.

The city council will be asked to ratify the contract award on Wednesday, the first regular meeting after a six-week  summer break.

(Wildish, of Eugene, also is the firm that is now completing the job of raising the height clearance of the Ellsworth Street Bridge.)

The bridge will have to be closed to traffic, which normally amounts to about 10,000 vehicles a day. As now planned, the closure will start around Oct. 8 and last for three weeks. The deadline for finishing the repairs is Nov. 4.

According to city engineers, the total  project cost on Cox Creek, including construction, now is $526,000. The city had secured an ODOT grant of about $738,000 for the repairs, and now the state won’t have to spend it all.  (hh)

The Salem Avenue bridge on Cox Creek, photographed Sunday from the walkway on the north side.