The Board of County Commissioners awarded Aberdeen-based Quigg Bros Inc. a contract to replace a culvert along Green Cove Creek at Country Club Road.
The contract, for $6,837,096, was approved on Tuesday, July 16. However, the board also authorized the director of the public works department to approve necessary amendments to the contract as long as it does not exceed $7.5 million.
Quigg Bros will construct a new 150-foot bridge to meet current fish passage requirements. The existing culvert under the road has already failed. Water passage through the culvert has been remedied through an emergency slip line since November 2021.
Public Works Director Matt Unzelman briefed the board about the project on Monday, July 15, and told the commissioners that the bridge would be post-tensioned.
Unzelman explained that, due to tight corners around the neighborhood, they would not be able to transport 150-foot girders into the location, so they would have to splice three smaller girders through cabling. The director added that they will have to remove 25,000 cubic yards of soil before the bridge is installed and that they will also have to work on stream enhancement features up and down the creek.
The total cost of the project is estimated at $9.6 million. Funding for the project will be sourced from the following agencies:
The county will also utilize $2.55 million from its real estate excise taxes, $200,000 from its country road fund, and $150,000 from its stormwater utility fees.
County staff aim to complete the project by 2025, Senior Civil Engineer Marcus Storvick told the board.
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Duffish
Has anyone done a study of the number of salmonids that go upstream to spawn? I would be interested if this large, expensive project will have positive results rather than "if we improve it, they will come" strategy. I really am in favor of widening culverts, improving riparian habitat, etc for salmonids, but also interested in results, or the probability for results.
Saturday, July 20 Report this
sonshi
I can't give specifics on numbers or species, but I can say this one is important. We had salmon actually coming up Green Cove Creek every year right up until the 'emergency fix'. I had hoped they would just do a foot bridge replacement -- it was being considered for a while, there are alternative vehicle routes already in place.
Monday, July 22 Report this
Duffish
response to sonshi:
Excellent, good to give them a chance. Thanks.
Tuesday, July 23 Report this