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Rogue River's Skevington Crossing awaits installation of water lines By BUFFY POLLOCK for the Mail Tribune ROGUE RIVER - Skevington Crossing may be complete, but locals who have been without the bridge since Evans Creek washed it away in the New Year's Day flood five years ago are going to have to wait a little longer to use it. The city is delaying the grand re-opening of the bridge between Palmerton and Anna Classick parks until it completes a $65,000 water system project and paving work on the Palmerton side. "You can cross it, but you can't," said local contractor Robby Pearce of Timber Mountain Construction. "The bridge portion is totally finished, but it's just not opened yet. There's still going to be quite a bit of work going on at the site." Timber Mountain is installing an eight-inch water line along both sides of the new crossing in order to loop the city's water supply from East to West Evans Creek roads. The water line project is expected to take until late February, Pearce said. Pearce said his crews finished building the bridge around Dec. 13, two days before their deadline. The new bridge, much bigger than its predecessor at 234 feet and 95 percent above the 100-year floodplain, looks like a "mini Golden Gate Bridge," Pearce said. The original bridge was built with donated labor, materials and a $16,000 grant. Replacement of the favorite local crossing was constructed with $300,000 from a disaster relief fund. Pearce's company was selected to build the bridge for its bid of $257,300, the lowest of six. A grand opening ceremony is planned for spring once all work has been completed. Buffy Pollock is a free-lance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.