BOISE, Idaho — "We hate to close bridges,” said Ryan Head, Director of the Ada County Highway District.
The Ada County Highway District has secured the first round of emergency funding to design and reconstruct the Eckert Road Bridge, which crosses over the Boise River near Barber Park.
Head added, "They accepted the application and selected it for funding.”
As we previously reported,ACHD abruptly closed the bridge on Jan. 31 after crews discovered the bridge's support pillars were severely decaying, impacting its load capacity.
After a recommendation from the Idaho Transportation Department, the bridge was immediately closed, leaving the agencies to look for temporary fixes.
"Some of those interim solutions would be anything that can shore up those piers to give it a little bit of added strength, for at least a time that would allow us to remove the weight restrictions,” said Head.
Normally, a bridge takes years to build when you include engineering, materials, and construction.
But in this case, ACHD plans for an expedited schedule fixing Eckert Bridge along with surrounding bridges in the area.
Head said, “There's three bridges right in that area, only one is having the weight restriction issues that caused the closure, but we are working closely on how we can address all of that at once so that area is impacted the least.”
The big question on many minds is, come float season, how will people access nearby Barber Park to get on the Boise River?
Even through winter, Barber Park remains open. You'll just have to approach Eckert Road from the south side of the river.
ACHD, stresses that the reconstruction is a team effort, and safety is the top priority.
"We hate to do this but that’s what the inspection is there for. It’s to help us find things before something bad happens so, we're very pleased that is what occurred, still sensitive to the fact that it does impact people’s lives, but we do see this as a success," said Head.
The current load restriction is set for three tons, so the bridge is still open for pedestrians, and around the site, there are signs for alternate routes.
