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It's a stretch, but crew reaches under bridges for cleaning

It takes more than a scrub brush and household cleaner to wash a bridge. ITD utility craftsmen Curt Stoker and Matt Evans used a high-pressure washer and the department’s Reach-All bridge truck early this month to clean pier caps on two bridges in District 2.

Ronnie George drove the special bridge truck, which is based in Boise, to Lewiston for the first of two bridge cleanings scheduled this year, explains Joe Young, a District 2 construction foreman and part of the Bridge and Building crew.

Young tries to clean all of the 15-20 bridges that have piers every two years. This year’s schedule calls for cleaning a total of about nine bridges. The process removes debris, such as bird residue, and gravel from the pier caps and then resealing them. The preventive maintenance prevents damage caused by chemicals, sand and gravel and moisture.

Stoker and Evans used the Reach-All bucket to access areas under the Spalding Bridge east of Lewiston. They also cleaned the Memorial Bridge that connects Lewiston and Clarkston, Wash.

“It was nice while I was there for the week. A couple of days the temperature was near 70 degrees,” George said. “Although it’s not the most glamorous jobs – washing bird droppings from the bridges – it’s an important part of maintenance."