Bridge project underway

The town of Saratoga is moving forward with a project to install a bridge connecting the hot pool area to Veterans Island, after a three-year delay.

“This is something that we have wanted to get accomplished for a long time, and I think that it is something that the local people and tourists are going to really enjoy,” said Public Works Director Chuck Bartlett.

The town applied for a $150,000 Transportation Enhancement Activities-Local (TEAL) grant through the Wyoming Department of Transportation in 2010 for a bridge to connect the hot pool area and Veterans Island. However, the project was delayed due to floods in 2010 and 2011, preventing studies needed before the project continued.

Bartlett said the town of Saratoga and other agencies finished those studies, which included a cultural resource inventory, sending letters to various agencies and an aquatics resource inventory.

The town of Saratoga put the project out to bid Sept. 11. The work calls or the furnishing of a 150- by-8 foot bridge, according to the official bid notice.

The $150,000 TEAL grant will roughly cover project costs estimated at $187,500, Bartlett said. The remaining $37,500 will be paid for with in-kind services from the town.

The town will build the abutments to hold the bridge, but will hire a contractor to pour the concrete for the abutments, Bartlett said. Additionally, the town will have to hire a crane to set the bridge.

Bartlett said he expects the bridge to be delivered by February, but the time frame greatly depends on schedules from bidders.

Bartlett said, so far, the town sent specs for the project to five manufacturers.

“I think it is going to be great when it’s built,” Bartlett said. “I think it will be a great addition to the town.”

The new bridge is part of a larger project to build an interpretive trail from the Brush Creek Hayden Ranger Station south of town to Saratoga Lake. But the bridge is the main component to the entire trail, Bartlett said.

“This is kind of the key component. Until we get this done, we don’t want to look at anything else,” Bartlett said.