CA-BLM-5910(1)

PROJECT DETAILS: CA BLM 5910(1) Kaweah Bridge This project is located within Case Mountain Area of Critical Environmental Concern in Tulare County, California adjacent to Mineral King Road approximately 6.5 miles southeast of Three Rivers. This project consists of the replacement of the existing 50 foot long, one lane Kaweah Bridge over the East Fork Kaweah River and the deck and railing replacement of the adjacent 20 foot long 6 Mile Flume Bridge. The bridges are located on Case Mountain Road within Bureau of Land Management Lands, and provide critical access for fire management activities. The existing Kaweah Bridge is an approximately 50 foot long structure composed of steel railroad flatcar repurposed into a 3 span bridge. The bridge site is located on Case Mountain Road approximately 1000 feet from the intersection of Mineral King Road. The proposed replacement bridge is a 55-foot by 12-foot prefabricated steel bridge with glue laminated (glulam) deck panels, timber running planks, and steel thrie-beam rail. The contractor will be required to provide a fully engineered, simple span, single-lane, portable modular steel girder bridge. Steel fabrication will need to be completed by an AISC certified fabricator. The bridge will be founded on concrete spread footings to be placed behind the existing concrete piers and between the existing stone masonry wingwalls. Great care will need to be exercised during construction to avoid damage to the stone masonry wingwalls and to minimize required removal of the existing concrete piers. The existing 6 Mile Flume Bridge is an approximately 20-foot long by 13.5-foot wide structure composed of steel wide flange girders supporting a timber deck. The proposed work will consist of removal and replacement of the existing timber decking, running planks, curbing and steel rail with glulam timber deck panels, glulam timber running planks, and timber rail. Both bridges will be closed to all traffic during construction. With the completion of the new bridges, both bridges which are currently load posted to 10 tons, will be brought up to current live load standards. The Kaweah Bridge will require a 55-foot long pre-fabricated steel bridge and approximately 800 LB of reinforcing steel, 9 CUYD of structural concrete, and 45 CUYD of structural excavation. The 6 Mile Flume Bridge will require approximately 0.4 MFBM of glulam structural timber, 25 SQYD of glulam structural timber decking, and 32 LNFT of timber bridge railing. This project is located within a sensitive location on BLM lands with site access provided by the narrow and winding Mineral King Road and the bridge provides critical access for fire management activities. All construction debris will need to be contained and kept out of the East Fork Kaweah River and 6 Mile Flume. Great attention to detail will be required in achieving customer satisfaction in areas of bridge construction, timely completion of work, and minimization of impacts to natural resources.