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When a bridge falls down, who pays? Three Mill Road residents discuss their predicament since this bridge over McMullen Creek near Selma collapsed in January from high water. They have been able to get through Ken Pratt's property, but access is limited to 4-wheel drive over a primitive road. [Daily Courier / Jeff Duewel] Monday Apr 3, 2017 at 1:55 PM Apr 3, 2017 at 5:39 PM By Jeff Duewel Grants Pass Daily Courier SELMA — Neighbors on Three Mill Road have had a rough two months since their bridge over McMullen Creek collapsed from raging waters in January. They've been getting by, sort of, by driving through Good Samaritan Ken Pratt's property, which gets them back to McMullen Creek Road via Myrtlewood Drive. But it's a primitive road. Now, after failed attempts to get money from government agencies, about 15 households are having to pay to resurrect the bridge on their own. The cost may be surprisingly low for bridge work, approximately $25,000 to $30,000, but it's a bracing lesson for a lot of people in rural areas who rely on smaller bridges beyond where Josephine County maintains roads. The county owns 120 bridges, and maintains them all. There are hundreds more where it's all on the landowners. "If we don't maintain the road, we don't maintain the bridge," explained Chuck DeJanvier, bridge engineer for the county. The county has replaced three or four bridges a year in the last decade, with most of the funding from the federal Highway Bridge Program. The county likely will get some funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to repair a bridge on Sand Creek Road in the Jerome Prairie area after near-flooding eroded its foundation. FEMA money also could be used by the city of Grants Pass if it has costs from a slide on Poplar Drive in January that hit two houses on the edge of town. But FEMA money isn't available for private citizens unless it's a massive incident such as Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005, said Jenny Hall, emergency services manager for Josephine County. "FEMA will work with anyone big or small if they are eligible," Hall said. "Our disaster just wasn't that big. We didn't hit the trigger for those programs to come into play." Hall said FEMA has a number of funding streams that can be made available with a presidential declaration. Josephine County was included in President Trump's disaster declaration after heavy rain in mid-December. The city of Grants Pass, Grants Pass Irrigation District, Josephine County and Rogue Community College may qualify for aid because of that, Hall said. Earlier this month Gov. Kate Brown signed a request for another disaster declaration for Jan. 7-20 in Oregon. None of this will help the folks on Three Mill Road, a remote area two miles from popular Lake Selmac. Many feel that because of fire danger and use of the road for logging, they should be getting government help. Sixteen-year resident Norm Cegelnik went to meetings involving FEMA in February and was led to believe the county could facilitate that. Hall said he's mistaken. "The best way to describe FEMA is a sponge that might trickle down to you," Cegelnik said. "Only the big operations can qualify," added Lanny Vance. "The little operators fall through the cracks." Meanwhile, the county has donated $2,000 because it owns a parcel of land accessed by Three Mill Road where logging began in the fall and has another 150,000 board feet to go, said Dave Streeter, head of Josephine County Forestry. The county did some work on the road 25 years ago the last time logging occurred there. "We are a user of that road and have a vested interest in the bridge being repaired," he said. The Three Mill residents exude pride for self-reliance and some dismay at having to go it alone. "We've tried to make our point, to no avail," Cegelnik said. "This bridge is typical of what's all over this state in logging country. This is the kind of bridge that used to be built by loggers. That's a renewable resource in here." As of now, a medical emergency or a house fire would be a disaster for residents. Cegelnik said he had a heart attack some years ago, and was driven to Lake Selmac, where a helicopter took him to a hospital. "If that bridge hadn't been there, I wouldn't be here," he said. Three Mill residents will have to chip in well over $1,000 apiece to get it done and, no doubt, some won't be able to afford it. They're seeking donations via a GoFundMe account that has been set up. Visit GoFundMe.com, and search for "Cave Junction." Also, checks can be mailed to Dave Gowers, PO Box 520, Selma, OR, 97538. The bridge is actually built on a railroad car donated in 2002 by Rough & Ready Lumber, after high water washed out a culvert. When high water eroded banks in January of this year, it slumped badly. A contractor from Brookings will use a large crane to lift the boxcar, which will be shored up by steel pilings, and concrete poured on either side, Cegelnik said. Work is expected to take place this spring. Anastasia Mann, a Three Mill resident, walked across the footbridge to meet a UPS driver Wednesday. She's pregnant and due in two months. "I sure hope this bridge is done by then," she said. — Reach reporter Jeff Duewel at 541-474-3720 or [email protected]