Wild Things
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Above, Robert Blake, Chad Feragon, and Kyle Tash try to slip by the competition at the Wild Horse Race. J.P. Plutt photo
Feds look at Scenic Byway problems
By Barbara Bauerle
Dillon Tribune staff
The Beaverhead County Commission met with representatives of the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration on Wednesday to discuss problems with the Pioneer Mountains Scenic Byway.
The major items are two areas where dirt has shifted or sloughed. In a letter to one of the engineers, James Rathke, Chairman Tom Rice said the first slough will require 2,300 cubic meters of class 5 riprap. The repair of the second slough will require 100 to 200 cubic meters of riprap.
The cost estimate for the two projects is from $295,000 to $310,000, according to Rice.
This estimate does not include the addition of a culvert and pavement replacement at the Grasshopper Overlook, another project needed to fix problems with the Byway construction.
At the meeting, Rice told Rathke and Todd Butikofer, the other highway administration representative, that the county could help with the culvert installation but that the other projects are "way too big for Beaverhead County."
The three projects will be proposed to the Montana Forest Highway Tri-Agency for funding consideration.
After the meeting, Butikofer, Rathke and County Engineer Jim Carpita left to tour the Byway to look at the areas of concern.
Carpita will also look at the proposed federal designs to fix the problems and report back to the commissioners.
According to Rathke, it took the federal highway administration one and a half months to get out here to look at the road.
"We're glad you're here," Rice told the federal highway representatives. "We've been curious about this for quite some time."
The commissioners delayed taking over control of the project for the county after the federal government finished paving the roadway in 2008 due to their concerns over items that were not completed to their satisfaction.
The commissioner sent a letter on Sept. 11, 2008, outlining ten items they wanted addressed before the county would take over control of the road.
Discussion also centered on how the county could forward any future concerns to the Tri-Agency for a more timely conclusion.
The projects on the Byway are not part of federal stimulus funding, just ongoing maintenance.
Checking the plans
Beaverhead County Engineer Jim Carpita, Disaster and Emergency Services Coordinator Larry Laknar, and County Commissioner Mike McGinley look over plans for the Blacktail Deer Creek Pre-disaster Mitigation Project. The culvert style Reeder Street Bridge, shown in the background, will be replaced. J.P. Plutt photo
By J.P. Plutt
Dillon Tribune staff
Beaverhead County Disaster and Emergency Services Coordinator Larry Lakner announced that the Blacktail Deer Creek Pre-disaster Mitigation Project will begin next week and will disrupt normal traffic flow with the replacement of both the Reeder Street Bridge and the Railroad Street Bridge. The schedule includes a pre-construction meeting with contractors this week and once the project begins, a completion date within 120 days.
“There is going to be a road closure on Railroad Avenue for quite a while, Reeder Street for a shorter period of time,” said Laknar. “We want people to know that it is going to be a problem for a while with the street closures. Reeder will probably be closed for a month or more. When we get it all done it will be a nice project and the threat of flooding will go away.”
The project has been in development for five years with the intent of eliminating the flood potential created by the poorly engineered bridges. The waterway creates problems on an almost annual basis, with major flooding in 1986 highlighting the worse case scenario. That year high water levels at Clark Canyon Reservoir created an overflow at the spillway. High water on the Beaverhead River spilled into Blacktail Deer Creek at Poindexter and when the high water reached the Reeder Street Bridge it created a flood situation and what was named “Reeder River.” The overflow water was directed down Reeder Street to Pigtail Creek with the use of straw bale barriers.
“Those old structures that were put in in the 1970s are culverts and they only pack about 70 cfs (cubic feet per seconds) of water and the stream will actually handle 400 cfs,” explained Laknar of the bottleneck effect the two bridges have on the creek. “It was a bad design when they put those old culverts in and it is showing up on the flood plain maps. Those structures can’t handle the water.”
A second problem the project will address is the phenomenon called frazzle ice. According to Laknar the condition occurs when water quickly drops in elevation and cools when the air temperature is 20 degrees below or lower. The ice will form from the bottom of the stream bed up and that will also contribute to flood potential.
“This area is one of the few in the world where that happens,” explained Laknar. “What they’re going to do is go through that stretch of the stream and make the gradient more consistent so we don’t have those (elevation) drops.”
Another focus of the project will be removal of silt from the Reeder Street Bridge upstream for several hundred feet. The culvert bridge created the buildup of the silt which has raised the stream bed elevation in that stretch of the creek. Laknar says the silt removal is a component of evening the gradient.
Additionally, the project calls for enhancing the fishery and improving the esthetic value of the creek. “They’re going to make the stream channel meander a little bit and they’re going to fix the sides so it’s not going to look like a culvert or a ditch,” said Laknar. “The banks will be sloped and some of them will be bricked in critical areas (to prevent erosion).”
Beaverhead County will pay for a majority of the estimated $2 million cost of the project. Initially, the county landed a FEMA grant that will pay about $500,000. Other grants will come from the DNRC, Fish, Wildlife & Parks and the Union Pacific Railroad. Multiple agencies have also been involved in the planning and will be involved during the construction phase. A telephone line will be moved as will a power line and a natural gas line. The City of Dillon will move a sewer line as part of their in-kind contribution to match the FEMA grant.
Sheriff warns of S&R telephone scam
Sheriff Jay Hansen has received word from Michael McCloskey, Commander of the Cascade County Search & Rescue squad, that an organization is making phone solicitation in Central Montana on behalf of SAR Charities. They say they are soliciting on behalf of the “local” SAR unit, but that is false. The Cascade County Sheriff’s office contacted the organization and was given the run around. McCloskey said his group has contacted the Montana Attorney General’s office and this organization is properly licensed to “solicit,” but there is little to regulate them. "We have learned that this family solicits under 10 different supposed charity names, from which none of the money seems to stay in the state," McCloskey said. "This family pulled close to $30,000 from Cascade County alone last year."
Sheriff Hansen wants to let people in Beaverhead County know that this group is not soliciting for the Beaverhead County Search & Rescue, so these calls are not coming from or benefitting our SAR unit in any way.
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