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Unsafe span puts kids afoot Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Eagle Point officials on Tuesday closed the Main Street bridge over Little Butte Creek to buses and trucks hauling heavy loads after cracks in the bridge showed signs of growing. If the problem gets worse, the aging bridge - a major thoroughfare in Eagle Point - could be closed to all traffic. By MELISSA MARTIN EAGLE POINT - School children had to walk an extra block and buses and trucks took a detour after the city imposed weight limits on the bridge over Little Butte Creek on Tuesday. The city closed the Main Street bridge to buses and trucks after engineers discovered cracks in the bridge's failing concrete spans. "The structural integrity of the concrete is so deteriorated that the strength of the bridge is being maintained by the rebar," said City Administrator David Hussell. One of the cracks, being monitored by a measuring device called a strain gauge, has moved a half millimeter in a month's time, said public works director Gary Shipley. "It shouldn't be moving at all," said Pat Moore, manager of the OBEC Consulting Engineers office in Medford, which inspected the Little Butte Creek bridge. "That means the crack is opening up and eventually could reach a point of bridge failure." The 22,000-pound load limit applies to buses that transport 2,000 children to and from Eagle Point schools each day. To make matters worse, the intersection at the bridge is the city's most congested - 4,800 vehicles cross the creek daily to reach three schools clustered together on the other side. Buses took a detour Tuesday afternoon, crossing Little Butte Creek at the Highway 62 bridge near Shasta Avenue to reach schools. Wednesday morning, buses pulled into a vacant lot across from the school district office for drop off. Then students walked across the creek on the historic covered bridge, which was moved from Antelope Creek years ago to provide a safe pedestrian path for school children. "Things went real smooth," said transportation supervisor Nola Wyatt. "We actually got the buses back to the barn faster than we normally do because we weren't held up by traffic at the bridge." She was one of many adults helping students get off buses, cross the covered bridge and walk the block to class. "We had the superintendent out there, the business manager, principals and crossing guards with fluorescent vests," Wyatt said. "We want to be out there the first few mornings until everybody gets used to the change." Meanwhile, the City Council will discuss the future of the bridge during its meeting at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall. It would cost about $125,000 for repairs and take at least six months, Hussell said. But the city may opt to wait for state funding to replace the bridge at a cost of about $2 million. Built in 1947, the bridge over Little Butte Creek is one of about 400 post World War II-era bridges in Oregon that have repair or replacement needs, said Moore, of OBEC, which inspects bridges for the Oregon Department of Transportation. While he's heard of bridges washed out by floods, he's never known of one to collapse under the weight of traffic. Oregon has $150 million worth of bridge repair but only $100 million in funds for bridges on Interstate 5 and Interstate 84, said Monte Grove, Oregon Department of Transportation area manager. Southern Oregon has 10 bridges on Interstate 5 that could reach load limits and truck rerouting in the next decade. "Bridges are reaching the end of their useful life," Grove said. "They weren't designed for loads that we're subjecting them to today." In Eagle Point, cars, RVs, pickups and delivery trucks that weigh less than 22,000 pounds can continue to use the span over Little Butte Creek - for now. "It's like a coat hanger that you keep bending back and forth until it breaks," Hussell said. "We monitor the crack twice a week. If it gets to a point where the change is great, we may have to shut the bridge down altogether." Reach reporter Melissa Martin at 776-4497, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.