By Dan Singleton
MVP Staff
Mountain View County crews managed to re-install the temporary bridge over the Little Red Deer River northwest of Cremona.
The bridge was pulled out of the river during flooding at the end of June. After the bridge was moved, the river washed away the banks, leading to speculation that the temporary bridge would no longer span the river.
However, crews have now been able to complete remedial work at the site, allowing the bridge to be re-installed, said Michael MacLean, MVC director of operations.
“We had to reinforce and build the road up to the bridge, and basically the bridge has been set back onto the piles,” said MacLean. “We also had to do some road work to get the road back up to the bridge.
“We put some reinforcements to somewhat redirect the water under the bridge, with rig matting and so on.”
The bridge will now remain in place until the next flood event, when the bridge could again be lifted out of the river using a large crane, he said.
“Of course it's difficult to design a bridge for a flow that consistently moves as a result of floods. Unless there is some river flood risk study completed, then it is difficult to design a permanent bridge for that location. So the temporary bridge will stay in place,” he said.
The cost of the recent remedial work is still being calculated, he said.
“Those dollar figures are all being put together right now and being summarized for submission to the province,” he said.
The damages that occurred as a result of the flood will be covered by the province, he said.
Meanwhile, work on the Acme Road upgrade project southeast of Cremona is on schedule, he said.
Started this spring, the project will see the road upgraded from Highway 22 to Madden.
“It's coming along well, but the weather has sometimes been playing havoc with us, with all the rain,” he said. “However, it is still on time.”
Road detours are now in place at certain parts of the project.
“This year we are doing the base work, hill cuts, culvert bridge structures, and next year we will do the chip seal,” he said.
