Late this afternoon you could hear a collective sigh by transporation managers, and “wahoo” from north county residents as Tillamook County Public Works removed the “road closed” signs for Miami Foley Road. In what has to be “record-time”, a 50-foot span bridge has been installed over Crystal Creek at the 8.8 milepost on Miami Foley Road. The temporary culvert blew out during an atmospheric river event on December 5, 2023; the culvert was scheduled to be replaced with a bridge in the summer of 2024. Tillamook County Public Works Director Chris Laity was able to expedite the bridge construction as the engineering and even the contract had been awarded to HP Civil. With assistance from Mohler Sand & Gravel, the heavy equipment moved in on December 6th and original estimates for opening were 14 days.
Today, December 15th, exactly 10 days after the clsoure, Pioneer photographer Don Backman watched as the final loads of gravel were smoothed out and workers were heard to say, “I think we can call it a completed bridge.”
Please use caution in the area – the area is a gravel surface; paving, striping and other finish work will be completed this summer.
