Boundary Bridge Repaired, Access Restored This Summer

Published: February 17, 2010

Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

Everett, Wash. Feb. 5, 2010? Workers finished repairing Boundary Bridge this week, but visitors will have to wait until this summer to cross to the other side, where 2003 and 2006 flood damage blocks Rat Trap Road (FS 27), and accesses a popular trailhead.

Suiattle River floodwaters destroyed the southern approach to the bridge in October 2003, cutting off the loop drive over scenic Rat Trap Pass and down to the White Chuck River Road (FS 23). Floods also damaged White Chuck Road, with repairs delayed until the outcome of environmental studies.  Rat Trap Pass Road accesses the Meadow Mountain Trail, which leads to the high country on the north side of the White Chuck valley.   

Engineers built a 210-foot long Acrow panel-truss bridge that was pushed out over the top of the existing bridge, spanning the washed-out gap without disturbing the south side of the river or putting more piers into the river channel. ?This was an important consideration for the fisheries and the Wild and Scenic River issues at the site,? said Peter Wagner, engineer for the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. The total length of the crossing is now 405 feet, and is designed so that it can be further extended in the future. Construction cost just over $1.1 million, and was paid for by Emergency Relief for Federally Owned roads program administered by the Federal Highway Administration, along with some Flood Emergency Supplemental funding that the forest received in 2009.   

For updated information about trails and roads, go to alerts and conditions on: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/mbs/.