Bridge safety cause for concern
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RONAN – On March 22 around 10:30 p.m., the Ronan Fire Department was called to a small chimney fire on Beaverhead Drive three miles south of Ronan. As the firemen drove down the road, they were stopped dead in their tracks when they encountered an unsafe bridge that likely would’ve collapsed if they crossed.
“It was not in real good shape,” Ronan Fire Chief Mark Clary said. “It’s a real disadvantage; we’re not going to chance a quarter-of-a-million-dollar truck to put out a fire.”
The small fire was contained within minutes, and fire trucks were no longer needed, but Beaverhead Drive resident Don Andrews said it could have been much worse.
“It was a tragedy waiting to happen,” Andrews said. “Luckily they got the fire out without a fire truck, but they could’ve lost the whole house, which has five inhabitants.”
Andrews commends the fire department’s response time, saying they arrived five minutes after the initial police car zoomed by his home. But if firemen can’t access the fire due to a bad bridge, it’s a major cause for concern. Andrews says the bridge was put in during the late ‘40s or early ‘50s, and it's always been debated whether it is public or private. Andrews says that once the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service put in a hunting access at the end of Beaverhead Drive around five years ago, it was deeded public access so that Fish and Wildlife had a legal way to get in and out.
“It’s a gray area,” Andrews said. “It should have gone under as a county road, but the county says it’s a private road.”
According to Clary, the Beaverhead Drive bridge is one of many in the fire department’s service area that is unsafe for fire trucks to pass over.
“There’s quite a few bridges not up to par,” Clary noted. "(A few years ago) we fell through one, but got across it. There are several in bad shape.”
Lake County road superintendent Larry Ehle says the bridge in question is in fact private, meaning the landowner is responsible for the maintenance. Ehle says there are a few problem bridges he’s aware of, and there are probably many more bad private bridges.
Ehle says the state rates the county bridges, and the Lake County Road and Bridge Department’s small crew does its best to keep on top of problem bridges and restore them to their original weight rating.
“My crew is responsible for all the bridges and culverts — approximately 181,” Ehle said. “That’s a full-time job.”
Ehle says he understands community concerns, but added it’s a big task if the crew has to return weekly to maintain the same bridges over and over. His crew also has to devote time to cleaning and replacing culverts.
“(In) continuous rain, they’re out there checking banks,” Ehle added. “Skunks like to get in the culverts (as well) this time of the year, which is an odious task.”
Ehle says he needs more funding to truly improve area roads and bridges. The department needs to be able to put in new bridges and make major repairs, rather than just maintaining them to a drivable level.
“I need more equipment, machinery and men,” he said. “We’re doing the best we can with what we’ve got. I’ve been chomping at (county) commissioners since I came here in 2006. We also have 766 miles of road to maintain.”
