Jesi and I went out to the Irish Bend Covered Bridge this afternoon to check on the water levels. The surf is up today!
Ducks enjoying the pasture.
Water running through the forest and swamping a temporary structure near the west end of campus.
Those are egrets on the far side of the water.
Water rushing out of a culvert under the road.
A whirlpool feeding into the culvert. It reminds me of the power plant intake that I saw in Albania.
A little more water and the road is going to be over-topped.
The culvert is getting mighty close to completely full. A few more sticks or logs and it’s curtains for the road.
Wow, not much freeboard left!
Now that levels have dropped have you visited again? Any sinkholes or erosion on the upstream side of that bypassing culvert? Seems to be a bit undersized.
Hi Will,
I am hoping to get out that way again this afternoon or tomorrow morning. When I visited, the water was just peaking. The upstream side of that culvert is surrounded by large boulders. The university rebuilt that whole culvert area a couple years ago. Before that, it had a low culvert and the road was designed to be over-topped in flood conditions. I’ll be curious to see if they do anything differently now that we’ve had this flooding.
Since you’re a covered bridge fan, you might find this page interesting. I visited every covered bridge in the state of Oregon last spring and summer. It really gave me an appreciation of the craftsmanship that goes into building and maintaining those bridges. The project also got me out to visit parts of the state I had never been to before.
Cheers!
Douglas
Hey Douglas –
I’ve been by before, the first visit probably related to your entry on your statewide trip.
I’ve visited / surveyed bridges in some ten states, and have helped restore or repair others in five, (replicating a Howe RR now) I’m yet to see those west of the Rockies, California’s, or yours with their unique 20th century legacy there in Oregon.
Both are on my short list –
Best,
— Will
Hi Will,
I’d love to go check out the bridges in California and Washington someday. Those would be slightly longer rides than what I did in Oregon…
There are several bridges in Oregon that look like they could use repair in the next few years. At the least, a few need some floor boards replaced and many need paint. I am surprised that more of an effort isn’t made to get tourists to come and see all of the bridges.
Cheers!
Douglas