Local residents review ODOT's revised Lake Creek bridge project

Citizens review ODOT's plans for a bridge. photo by Conrad Weiler

Local residents weighed in last week on a proposal to replace a bridge over Lake Creek near milepost 87 west of Sisters on Highway 20.

A meeting hosted by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) was held Thursday, March 18, in the Sisters Best Western Ponderosa Lodge conference room.

ODOT unveiled the agency's current preferred option for the bridge, which is located between the old Suttle Lake Resort access road and the lake's newly-constructed access road.

A large group of local residents met with ODOT engineers and discussed environmental impacts, costs and project time frame. General consensus seemed to favor this proposal over a proposal floated in September 2003. The new plan will remove fewer trees in the construction area. Some sediment will get into Lake Creek during construction but will be held to a minimum, according to Bill Warncke, ODOT engineer.

Lake Creek receives water from Suttle Lake. The creek runs north through the Deschutes Basin Land Preserve towards Camp Sherman and into the Metolius River.

According to ODOT, "The purpose of this full replacement is to improve the highway freight corridor to eliminate bridge truck weight restrictions and to improve safety."

This will be the fourth bridge replacement in ODOT's planning for the area between Sisters and the Willamette Valley. The 100-foot Lake Creek Bridge project was postponed due to last August's B&B Complex Fire and local citizen concerns over potential environmental disturbances.

Lake Creek's green forested area has old growth Douglas firs, cedar and pines, along with wetland habit supporting bull trout, owls and eagles.

"This plan certainly looks better than the previous one," said Becky Johnson, longtime Central Oregon resident.

The proposed three-year project along Highway 20 will have an estimated cost of $1.65 million.

A one-lane detour road will cut through 0.75 miles of forest land and be attached to the current bridge on the north side of the highway. The old two-lane bridge will have one lane at a time replaced over three summers.

"During weekdays of the project, there may be some times when one lane is closed to traffic and controlled by flaggers," said Ted Stewart, ODOT engineer. "These closures will not occur on weekends so as to keep traffic flowing normally."

Asked about vehicle speeds at the construction area, Stewart said they are hoping for 45 miles per hour but that state traffic engineers will make that decision.

The ODOT team is predicting bids to go out this fall and construction to start in summer 2005, if all goes well.

At the open house meeting, questions were raised about a footpath below the bridge for pedestrian passage along Lake Creek.

"This will be difficult because the north side of the bridge does not have good access for hiking due to riparian growth," said Stewart.

Also, the clearing under the bridge will only be about six feet.

The large citizen turnout included Mary Zemke, a Jefferson County commissioner; State Representative Gene Whisnant (District 53), Bill Anthony, Sisters District Ranger and many from the group Friends of the Metolius.