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Construction begins to replace Skevington Crossing in Rogue River By BUFFY POLLOCK ROGUE RIVER - Workers dug in Wednesday to replace Skevington Crossing. TBH and Associates of Vancouver were contracted by Timber Mountain Construction to dig four, 44-foot deep holes - anchors for 30-foot concrete towers that will support the new pedestrian span across Evans Creek. "When you think about a hole that deep, it takes some pretty specialized equipment. "These guys are the best and it took the risk off my back having someone capable come down here for that particular job," said Robby Pearce, contractor for Timber Mountain. Timber Mountain's low bid of $257,300 was picked from five others ranging as high as $375,247. Public works director Ken Johnson said Timber Mountain was chosen because "they came highly recommended" by OBEC of Eugene, engineers of the project. Pearce said construction would take place in three phases - drilling of shafts for anchors, construction of the cables, and deck construction. Different from the wood swinging structure built in the late 1980s, the new structure will be a suspension bridge with a rigid wooden deck and hold an 8-inch water line to loop water distribution in the city. It will also be considerably wider and situated 95 percent above the 100-year flood plain. "It's gonna look like a little, mini Golden Gate Bridge," Pearce explained. The original bridge, which washed away in the New Year's Flood of 1997, was built with donated labor, materials and a $16,000 grant. Its 234-foot replacement will be constructed with $300,000 of disaster relief funding in the form of a HUD grant. Though HUD's deadline for completion of the bridge is Dec. 15, Pearce said his crews were "aiming for November." "It's good to start early when there's a deadline," said Pearce. "Besides that, we're just plain efficient." 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.