Park County is moving up work to replace a South Fork bridge after flooding last week led to damage and residents being stranded. 

Park County commissioners approved letting Road and Bridge move forward with determining the cost of a temporary bridge and a full replacement of the bridge on Hunter Creek Road, which was damaged in the flooding. 

County Engineer Brian Edwards said setting up a detour and temporary bridge, and then putting in a new permanent bridge, will cost roughly $650,000-$750,000. 

Commissioner Dossie Overfield proposed, and the others agreed, to let the department move forward and hold off looking at a budget adjustment until costs are determined. 

“We got the bridge back open for local traffic. We were able to get a tractor excavator across it and a motor grader, so that we feel pretty comfortable,” Edwards said. “It was load rated before at 35 tons, and that's what we're saying now. We feel pretty comfortable with that.”

Still, he said, the bridge was already highlighted by the county as one of the five bridges most in need of replacement. A lot of prep work was already done years before, including a design, geotechnical work and more. 

“We've got a lot of the front work done that I think we can build on,” he said. “But I think with the condition of the bridge, it was built in 1956. The age, we need to get a bigger opening, a bigger span, more depth to actually build the road up some too. I think that we should accelerate going ahead and getting that bridge put in place.”

Cleanup around the bridge will be done in the fall, Edwards said, after chip sealing work is done. 

He also suggested the county could look into getting a type of temporary bridge that could be installed in days to solve an even worse issue next time, such as if a bridge is completely broken. 

Park County Homeland Security Director Jeff Martin added that there is federal money available to do work such as slope abatement to try and lessen the effects of future flooding — mudslides on the South Fork were also an issue with last week’s rains. 

Chair Scott Steward said there will also be a debrief next week with other organizations who responded to determine what went well and what could be done better next time.

Martin said from his perspective the quick influx of videos showing the conditions assisted him in preparing a response — he even had an agency prepared to have Blackhawk helicopters fly in and rescue stranded residents before determining it was not needed. Any resident of the many seasonal cabins on the road who needed to get out was able to get across on foot and be shuttled away.

Commissioners and Edwards applauded the workers who responded quickly to the crisis and help stranded residents and eventually reopen the bridge.