Phoenix Lake span cracks force closure

A cloud of dust rises into the air Friday afternoon as construction crews blast large rocks near the old Phoenix Lake bridge. Maggie Beck/Union Democrat

It’s too dangerous to keep the bridge open, according to Gary Taylor, deputy director of engineering for the county Public Works Department. The ongoing blasting near the bridge appears to have damaged it, he said.

Project crews were blasting rock and earth last week, with blasting continuing into this week.

Detours include Ridgewood Drive to Highway 108 for those living west of the project area, and Creekside Drive and Crystal Falls Drive to Highway 108 for those east of the project area.
   

The Public Works Department issued the closure notice Friday morning. Taylor explained blasting is scheduled to get closer to the bridge, putting it at even more at risk.

The blasting had prompted the Public Works Department to close the bridge for a few hours a day through Sept. 4 to accommodate blasting crews. That order was voided when the structural damage became apparent.

An indefinite bridge closure may pose a problem for drivers, as the project is scheduled to continue into next summer. But, Taylor noted, a total closure may enable the project contractor, Ford Construction of Lodi, to get the new bridge and related road work completed ahead of schedule.

Dennis Randall, a volunteer fire captain for the Tuolumne County Fire Department, expressed concern about the closure in relation to emergency responses.

"It has a significant impact particularly for that immediate area because Phoenix Lake Estates is isolated from the nearest station (the Crystal Falls station),” he said.

Randall said the suggested detours will add several minutes to emergency response times in certain instances, but he said the routes will provide adequate access.

“We need to discuss this with our dispatch center so they shift the response plan,” he said.

School buses that run in the area, including Curtis Creek Elementary School buses, will also be forced to adjust their routes.

The Phoenix Lake Road bridge project has been in the works since the mid-1990s, when the county Board of Supervisors passed a resolution to seek federal funding.

Taylor said the county faced a deadline that could have resulted in losing funding if construction had not begun this year.

The roughly year-long project will involve not only replacing the bridge, which dates back to 1948, but also reconstruction of the narrow roadway approaches.

The new bridge will be a pre-cast reinforced concrete structure and less susceptible to damage from high water flows.