2/27/2013
Reed Hollinshead
ITD Communication
208-334-8881
reed.hollinshead@itd.idaho.gov
Repair of Zimmer Creek culvert for runoff control begins March 11
BOISE - The 2012 Springs Fire in southwest Idaho consumed more than 6,150 acres, and the negative affects are
still being felt. The latest concession to the fire is the lack of
runoff control now that all of the underbrush and vegetation has been
burned off in the area.
With the ground thawing sufficiently to allow repairs, a pipe culvert at
Zimmer Creek on Idaho 55 about two miles north of Banks will be cleaned
out starting March 11 by the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD). The Forest Service and ITD predict significantly more runoff this spring due to loss of ground cover that would prevent
erosion.
The work is expected to finish in three to four weeks.
Click here for picture of pipe.
The
pipe has been in place for decades, and at some point a landslide
clogged more than half of it, restricting the amount of flow it can
handle. ITD’s maintenance forces attempted to clean it out last fall
using equipment, but much of the debris in the 48-inch diameter pipe was
too large and bulky to be moved. A professional contractor will clean
out the pipe, likely by hand, with someone inside the pipe pulling out
boulders, branches and other debris.
"ITD’s goal is to have the
pipe cleaned out by spring runoff in hopes of preventing damage to the
road due to floodwaters running over or undermining the highway," said Southwest Idaho Maintenance Manager Tom Points.
Click here for Points' sound bite.
Pipeline Inspection Services, of Nampa, will complete the $29,000 work.
“The contractor is using innovative and outside-the-box thinking in approaching the work," said Project
Manager Amanda LaMott. "It looks like ITD could save significant money on this work, which should wrap up in about a month.”
Click here for LaMott's sound bite.