This is the bridge over Cox Creek on Goldfish Farm Road on Saturday afternoon.
Goldfish Farm Road, between Knox Butte Road and Santiam Highway on the east side of Albany, will be closed to through traffic starting Monday so the bridge across Cox Creek can be replaced.
Linn County expects the closure to last until Sept. 22. The county road department published a detour map suggesting that drivers use Scravel Hill Road about one mile to the east. But depending on where they need to go, drivers are more likely to use Price Road past Timber Linn Park.
A bike ride took me to the bridge on Saturday. The road deck seemed solid enough, but that was deceiving.
The bridge is built of concrete slabs on timber foundations and is considered “structurally deficient.”
A county description of the project says the beams have exposed rebar and adds: “The timber substructure has many areas of decay, crushing, splitting, and pile ends are not making contact with the caps… Temporary shoring was installed in 2018 to keep the bridge open to all traffic.”
The old bridge is about 27 feet wide, as near as I can tell from Google maps. The replacement will be a single-span prestressed concrete bridge that is 42 feet wide with 6-foot sidewalks on each side.
Cascade Civil Corp, of Redmond, won the construction contract with its bid of about $2.4 million, the lowest of six. The Oregon Department of Transportation is listed as the “funding source.”
The total cost of the project has been estimated at $3,3 million, incuding engineering, right-of-way acquisition and other items. Linn County’s share is listed as about $334,000.
Albany City Manager Peter Troedsson referred to the project in his weekly Friday report to the city council and wrote: “Linn County is replacing a bridge and constructing street, water, sewer, and stormwater improvements.”
I don’t know how far up and down Goldfish Farm Road those other improvements will extend. But there is little space for walking or biking there now, so any improvement along those lines would be a welcome change. (hh)
Another example of an overpriced project the city of Albany approved just like the 23 million dollar price tag for Monteith Park. When are the people of Albany going to wake up and demand transparency and accountability. City streets have literally destroyed the suspension on my truck because they’ve ignored the numerous potholes and disrepair.
This bridge replacement is a county, not a city, project.
What is the $900,000 for engineering and other costs and who is it paid to? It seems excessive for a pre-built bridge delivered onsite.
Is the engineering for just the bridge or is it also for the sewer, water, power movement, sidewalk from the previously widened street to Hwy 20. This is a County Road, that will be given to the City when it is complete, I have been an advocate for this since 2012 when I had to take refuge in the ditch when two trucks passed each other because at that point the road was so narrow. I proposed that the street be widened in 2013 but because it was complicated with multiple governments it has taken a long time because of funding. The project is one of the reasons that I attended one County meeting per week to have a better cooperation politically.
Is there information about what Street improvement may be done? I’m with you in the adding of a safer bike and walking area – i live by there and see people walking that narrow shoulder – makes me nervous for them.
I wonder about some of the costs when there have been MANY 1,000’s of similar type bridges built. One would think there was a “bridge catalog” where one could “shop” for the plans and pay a relatively small royalty fee, instead of continually “reinventing the wheel”. Similar to buying patterns at the fabric shop.