Tawlks-Foster Bridge Gets a Facelift
The Methow Valley’s beloved suspension bridge got a much
needed facelift this past month. Aging
wooden towers that threatened the closure of the Tawlks-Foster Suspension
Bridge in Mazama were replaced with high-grade, long lasting steel. Work on the
upgrade took almost a month, but with little impact to trail users and just in
time for skiing.
“All the
work was done by locals, from the engineering, inspections, removal and
replacement of the legs, and primarily all local materials” shared Rob
Seckinger, Trails Manager for MVSTA.
“This was an incredible effort, particularly by Jerry Palm and Palm
Construction, to source the materials, provide the labor and complete the
project at a level well beyond anyone’s expectations.”
The
Tawlks-Foster bridge was built 19 years ago and is a critical link to the
Methow Valley Community Trail. The bridge serves over 30,000 users annually
which include skiers, walkers, hikers, bikers, horses, and even snowcats and
snowmobiles for winter grooming operations. Solid wood beams gracefully
shouldered thousands of trail users for years, however weather and time as well
as limiting future maintenance costs necessitated the switch to steel. “The aesthetics of the bridge have not
changed that much but the longevity has been significantly extended,” said
Seckinger. “Most may not even notice the
switch.”
Bridge
repair and replacement is the Methow Valley Sport Trails Association’s largest
trail expense. MVSTA maintains over 30 bridges throughout the trail system and
will spend more than $500,000 in the next 10 years to keep those bridges open.
The total cost of the Tawlks-Foster bridge project will be close to $84,000.
Funding for this project comes from the sale of winter ski trail passes,
private donations, a significant grant from the Washington State Recreation
and Conservation Office, and from
Okanogan County hotel/motel tax funds. “This project and the trail
system is a powerful example of many diverse community partners coming together
to support a valued community resource that has literally helped support them,”
shared James DeSalvo, Executive Director at MVSTA. “A project like this
required strong support from the Forest Service, Okanogan County, RCO, local
land owners, local businesses, and our trail users and I am thrilled to see
everyone coming together to create an iconic legacy for all of us.”
More photos of the project can be found here.
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