Center Trail Bridge is OPEN
Several years ago, there was a washout/slide on Bear Gulch Creek that closed the Center Trail. This is one of the most important trails in Woodside, and it is critical to get it reopened. The Trails Committee reviewed the washout on the Center Trail and developed a plan to extend the trail and add a new bridge across the creek. Below is the construction progress, in reverse chronological sequence, with most recent first.
July 20, 2020 - The Bridge is OPEN. We are pleased to announce that the Center Trail Bridge project has been completed and is now open for equestrian use. Just this week, the contractor finished installing the bridge, building the new access trail to the bridge and fixing the fence along the sides of the trail. We had planned to have a grand opening ceremony next week with the Town Council, Town Trails Committee, donors and others, but unfortunately the current COVID mandate precluded us from having any type of large gathering. Hopefully we can have a dedication event sometime this fall or when COVID restrictions allow. Stay tuned. In the meantime, we invite you to ride the entire Center trail from North Woodside to South Woodside and enjoy the renewed access to areas that have been too long closed to us. So for now, go on out and enjoy the Center Trail in North Woodside once again.
We want to thank Sean Rose, Woodside Town Engineer, the Town staff, and C2R Engineering who did the construction work, for bringing this project to completion in record time.
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Many thanks to all the generous donors, supporters and the Town who made this project possible. Public works projects do cost more than private projects, and now we have a beautiful new bridge that will open the Center Trail for many years to come.
| Woodside Trails Club | $85,850 |
| Woodside Trails Committee Donation Fund | $50,000 |
| WHOA-Woodside Horse Owners Assn | $25,000 |
| Mounted Patrol Foundation | $15,000 |
| Woodside Community Foundation-Trails Fund | $10,000 |
| CHAPS-Community Horse Advocacy Program SMC | $5,000 |
| Anne Van Camp | $5,000 |
| Tom Shanahon | $5,000 |
| Don Pugh | $1,000 |
| TOTAL | $236,850 |
July 15, 2020 - Bridge is completed. Side railings done. Trail and fencing is almost finished. Grand opening will be announced shortly and it will be opened to riders. Finally we can ride the Center Trail from North Woodside to South Woodside.
July 7, 2020 - Bridge has been installed over the creek. Decking is being installed. The bridge approaches, side railings and trail construction are the remaining tasks
Bridge decking is being installed. Almost done with the decking..
June 30, 2020 - Bridge is being assembled on site. Foundations are done
The bridge was delivered and assembly has begun The railings are awaiting installation The stringers are being assembled. The bridge might be done the end of July or possibly early August. We will have a grand opening once the date has been finalized.
June 23, 2020 - The trail has been cleared. The concrete for the East side footing has been poured. The West side footing is being dug.
Here is a video of the drilling of the West side pier for the footing.
================= Historical background information ===========
The proposed location goes from Town Easement to Town Easement. The new bridge would require no work in the creek which might help with permits. Below is a picture of a similar bridge.
The below in chronological sequence, with oldest first.
March, April, May 2019- The Woodside Trails Committee developed a plan to extend the trail and install a new bridge to bypass the washout.
May 2019: Sean Rose, Woodside town engineer, established a preliminary planning range budget for $145,000 to $200,000 for the complete project. In order for the Town Council to approve moving forward on this project, the proposal needed to show the funding for the high end budget of $200,000. The Trails Committee voted to use $50,000 from the donation funds which were donated specifically for equestrian trails. . The Town was asked to contribute $35,00 as a Capital Improvement. The remaining $115,000 was to come from pledges from the equestrian community. The Mounted Patrol Foundation led the effort.
We want to thank the following for their generous pledges of support totaling $115,000
| WHOA | $25,000 |
| Woodside Trails Club | $60,000 |
| Mounted Patrol Foundation | $15,000 |
| Woodside Community Foundation-Trails Fund | $10,000 |
| Community Horse Advocacy Program - CHAPS | $ 5,000 |
| Individual Commitments | $11,000 |
May 28, 2019 - Woodside Town Council unanimously approved the Concept plan and preliminary budget and funding pledges.
June/July 2019-Town Engineer started getting bids and estimates for soils report, engineering, construction, survey and other tasks required to develop a final budget plan and schedule.
August 2019- Soils survey and report was completed. Engineering design began. Once done, bids for construction will be sent.
August 2019- Permit applications (Fish and Wildlife Corp of Engineers, CUP, etc) began. The Fish and Wildlife permit might take a while.
Sept 3, 2019-. Planning Commission hearing was held to review the Conditional Use Permit for bridge. The vote was 3-3 and the decision will be reviewed at the Town Council Meeting Oct 8.
Oct 2019 - Town Council voted 7-0 to issue the Conditional Permit for the bridge
Jan 2020 - Town Council voted 7-0 to authorize the Town Engineer to proceed with soliciting bids for the project which are due Feb 27
More information at:
https://www.woodsidetown.org/rfps
February 2020 - The best construction bid and contingency came in at $236,850, which was accepted. Construction costs were very competitive. The Woodside Trails Club increased their pledge by $25,850 to cover the increased cost. Individuals pledged $11,000. Community support totaled $151,850.
June 16, 2020 - No construction around the creek is permitted between Oct 15 and June 15. Hopefully all the permit, bids and design issues will be resolved and construction can begin on June 16, 2020
June 23, 2020 - Construction of the foundation started.
Extend the trail and add a new bridge - Easement to Easement
There is a 50 foot wide conservation and equestrian easement on the West side of the Bear Gulch Creek for all properties in the Why Worry Subdivision. This proposal is to extend the trail along this easement, behind the property at 60 Why Worry Lane.
The new bridge would be installed over the creek, It would go from the equestrian trail easement on 60 Why Worry Lane, and extend to the easement on 3411 Woodside Road. The bridge would be 50 feet long and 6 feet wide. The footings would be setback from the creek edges 8 feet.
Both sides of the bridge would be on Town easements which simplifies the permit process. The creek appears to be fairly straight and not much erosion on the banks at this location. The creek / gully is fairly square and narrow.
This would be a similar layout to the old metal bridge that is upstream from this spot. That metal bridge is 66 feet long. There would be no work in the creek, which will simplify the permit process.
New Bridge Design Details
The bridge would be 50 feet long and 6 feet wide. The footings/abutments would be setback from the creek banks 8 feet, to allow for erosion. There would be no need to do anything in the creek, which would simplify permit issues.
New Fiberglass Bridge (FRP- Fiber Reinforced Polymer ) details
A new 50 foot Fiberglass bridge that could be assembled on site is being proposed. Details are below. Once the Town approves the concept plan, bids will be solicited for the project.
Steel bridges will ultimately require some type of maintenance due to corrosion. The Fiber Reinforced Polymer bridges do not require any maintenance and are totally corrosion resistant. If the bridge site is remote, a steel bridge will need to be installed with a crane and this would be difficult. Typically, the installation costs for this type of bridge is less than a steel bridge.
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