A boil water order that has been in place in Yellow Pine since 2020 now has an end in sight following action taken this week by Valley County Commissioners.
The commissioners recently approved a $1.8 million contract to replace a bridge that is preventing repairs at a water treatment plant serving the village of 32 year-round residents, as of the 2020 U.S. Census.
Yellow Pine has remained under a boil order since April 17, 2020, while awaiting repairs to the water system. The system’s sand filters are currently unable to keep up with filtration demand due to leaks that are driving water usage up, according to Yellow Pine Water Users Association.
The treatment plant also sustained structural damage from a 6.5 magnitude earthquake that originated near Stanley on March 31, 2020.
Work to repair the water system has been completed up to the Abstein Bridge, which spans the East Fork of the South Fork of the Salmon River to provide access to the water plant and a handful of residences on the other side.
The 1920s-era wooden bridge remains safe for passenger vehicles to use, but cannot support heavy equipment that is needed to repair the treatment plant and lift the boil order, Road and Bridge Superintendent Jeff McFadden said.
McFadden now expects construction to be completed next summer, assuming the bridge manufacturer can deliver the replacement in time.
The existing bridge will remain in place as a pedestrian bridge once the new bridge is completed to preserve its historical value.
“It got moved back in the 50s from the Warm Lake area,” McFadden said. “They cut it in half, moved it to Yellow Pine, and they spanned the East Fork River with it.”
‘I think we have to move forward with it’
The county expected the bridge project to cost about $1.1 million, most of which was to be funded by $850,000 in federal grant funding.
The county’s $250,000 cost share, however, ballooned to $1 million when the lowest responsive bid for the work came in at about $1.8 million. That left the commissioners with a choice to find more funding for the project or lose the federal grant funding.
“I think we have to move forward with it,” said Sherry Maupin, who chairs the commission. “We’d lose out on a lot of funding, which is gonna hurt when that bridge fails.”
Maupin and fellow commissioner Neal Thompson agreed on Wednesday to fund the cost overruns using an additional $750,000 from within the Road Department’s budget.
Valley County Clerk Doug Miller told Valley Lookout the extra funding allocation could delay other road projects, though the timing and specific projects that could be affected remain unknown.
The county received one bid that was in line with the initial project budget, but rejected it because it did not include environmental protections for the river.
Commissioner Katlin Caldwell recused herself from all discussions about the bridge replacement project over the last few months due to familial ties to Granite Excavation, a Cascade contractor that bid on the project.
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Veritas Facility Services and Construction was awarded the contract to replace the bridge.
