Replacing a couple of 80-plus-year-old bridges really shouldn't be this difficult.
In case you missed Carole's article on Aug. 7, the Town of Bayfield wants to replace the two bridges on Bayfield Parkway. Actually, the town has to replace them. They're called "functionally obsolete," and replacing them was part of the agreement when the town took over their ownership a couple of years ago, along with a bigpayment from the Colorado Department of Transportation to construct two new bridges.
So our town board and manager and staff are trying to do the right thing and replace the bridges.
Simple, right?
Well heck no! Between U.S. Army Corps of Engineer regulations, U.S. Fish and Wildlife rules, and and State Historical Protection Office, you'd think we were trying to build a dam or something downtown instead of replacing a couple of bridges.
First, USFW says we need to look out for bald eagles. Oh please. I don't think bald eagles were ever threatened, and we see a ton of them now on the Pine River. Making one fly off to some other tree is not a big deal.
Then there's the habitat for the Southwest willow flycatcher. One was supposedly seen here years ago. I don't know what the heck this bird is or what it looks like, but he's been a big pain ever since he was seen here. If the town disturbs its habitat, the town has to replace it. That's where the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers gets involved. They go through the town's plan, page by page, to see if we're adhering to all of these rules.
Then the Colorado Historical Protection Office says a driveway between the two bridges will impact the historic Gosney property on the north side of the road. It used to be a slaughterhouse, but now it's a crumbling wooden building that's for sale.
Really, this needs protection?
I don't envy the town manager, Chris LaMay, on this project. It will take about eight months to get it done, and with the eagle and the historical stuff and who-knows-what the Corps of Engineers finds, who knows when we'll ever rebuild those bridges. Replacing two bridges should involve an inspection or two from an engineer, a rubber stamp, then building the darned things. Oh well. Best of luck to the town staff in getting this done sometime in this decade.