The town of Elk River, Idaho is steeped in the history of the Nez Perce people and the gold mining that made the region popular in the 1800’s. There are still narrow paths available to walk and drive along through Elk River that showcases the historic paths that miners took to reach the outlying gold fields.

DJ&A contracted with the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests to provide surveying and design for the replacement of a two failing timber bridges over Elk Creek that had reached the end of their useful lives. The bridges’ abutments were skewed 45 degrees and were “racking” (tipping perpendicular to the traffic) badly due to age and continual stress from large loads.

DJ&A designed two new pre-stressed concrete bridges (70ft and 52ft) with trapezoidal spill through channels. Project tasks included a complete site survey, hydraulic analysis, geotechnical investigation, design, and delivery of a complete PS&E package for construction.

Key Services

  • Site survey, hydraulic analysis, and geotechnical investigation
  • Designed replacements for two timber bridge structures
  • Performed structural and hydraulic calculations and prepared construction documents
  • Delivered a complete PSE package
  • Construction inspection and testing

Value Added

This project demonstrates that DJ&A offers considerable value to remote projects that require a large range of professional services.