Evansdale Bridge Reopening

After three years and many trials and tribulations, the Grand Opening for the Evansdale Bridge has been scheduled for 4:00 PM on Sunday, July 31, 2011. This grand old bridge was severely damaged during The Flood of 2008. Working with FEMA and Iowa Homeland Security, a Project Worksheet (PW) was written by FEMA to provide $2.2

million dollars to replace the damaged bridge in February, 2009. 

The Black Hawk County Conservation Board hired the engineering firm of Shuck- Britson of Des Moines, Iowa to design a new bridge. It took over a year to complete the

design and secure all of the necessary permits. The bid package was let in the spring of 2010 and awarded to Peterson Contractors Incorporated (PCI) of Reinbeck, Iowa.

The new bridge will only have 3 pillars instead of 7 and the deck will be 8 feet higher. The higher arch will put the new bridge above future floods and reduce the backup of water upstream. Because the new bridge is 8 feet higher, it was necessary to build a ramp to get the trail up to the new deck. This ramp required that River Road in Evansdale be moved. Moving the road dictated that Mid-American Power relocate one of their electrical towers. Work began in the summer of 2010 and first new I-beams were placed in October of 2010, as shown in the photo below. The deck is scheduled to be poured this spring with a goal of opening the bridge in July.

The Cedar Valley Nature Trail runs from Evansdale, Iowa to Hiawatha in Linn County, a distance of 52 miles. Since the Flood of 2008 the CVNT has been cut at the Evansdale Bridge and the McFarlane Bridge east of La Porte City. Funding for the McFarlane Bridge was secured last fall and design work has begun. The goal is to let bids for the McFarlane Bridge this fall. Work on six miles of the CVNT east of the McFarlane Bridge is scheduled for this summer (see page ???). Hopefully, the CVNT will be

reconnected sometime in 2013.

We are working closely with the City of Evansdale to plan the Grand Opening of the Evansdale Bridge. Details of the day’s festivities will be announced at a later date.

For now, plan on lacing up your hiking boots or bringing your bike to make your first crossing of the new bridge on Sunday, July 31, 2011 at 4:00 PM!