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Pathfinder Dam footbridge needs specialized repairs; parks staff struggle to find contractors
Summary
Parks staff said the footbridge at Pathfinder Dam is the parks department’s responsibility under a management agreement with the Bureau of Reclamation, and that an engineer’s 2021 report details required welding and bolt work; multiple contractors declined the job because access requires manual hauling and work in difficult terrain.
Parks staff told trustees that responsibility for the footbridge at Pathfinder Dam is included in the existing management agreement with the Bureau of Reclamation and that the bridge requires specialized structural repairs described in an engineer’s 2021 report.
The engineer’s report, staff said, specifies bolt types, weld beads, plate thickness and tensioning details. Parks staff said they had contacted multiple contractors and a specialized footbridge company but that three contractors declined to bid because the work requires welding, suspension of workers under the structure and hand-carrying heavy equipment several hundred feet over uneven trail bed — jobs contractors said were impractical or unsafe without significant logistics.
Staff said the department has not yet been able to reach the original structural engineer to ask for contractor referrals, but they said they have enough specification detail to put the repair work out to bid if a contractor can be found. Trustees suggested temporarily modifying nearby trails to improve access for equipment; staff said trail modification is difficult because the current trail weaves through bedrock in places.
No motion was made. Staff said they would continue outreach to find qualified contractors and consider bidding the project, and trustees asked staff to coordinate further with the Bureau of Reclamation and engineering contacts prior to contracting.
