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Scorpion Creek to have new freedom to flow

A project to place a bridge over Scorpion Creek on Idaho 78 in Owyhee County reached a major milestone with the recent placement of bridge girders. 

The new concrete-slab bridge replaces three corrugated metal culverts under the highway. One culvert is plugged, and the other two are more than halfway filled with sediment from the creek. Water runs over the highway at that location during periods of high water nearly every spring, creating a safety hazard.

The new bridge, about six miles northwest of Murphy, will accommodate higher water levels. The highway elevation also will be raised about two feet

Approaches to the new bridge will be reconstructed to match the new height and width.

Knife River Corp. Northwest, of Boise, is the contractor on the $947,000 project.

Published 8-16-13