Riverbed excavations concern county

Acting county engineer Matt Leonhardt talked to the commissioners at the Aug. 6 meeting about residents taking material from riverbeds. One area is near the bridge on Road 16. The bridge crosses the Greybull River (south of Otto).
“Someone has gone in there and excavated some material out around the bridge. Not right up on the bridge, but near it,” said Leonhardt.
County engineer Willie Bridges has visited the location to do an inspection. While not a huge concern at this point as far as affecting the bridge, it will be monitored.
Commission Chair Bruce Jolley asked if it could be a case of someone getting pit run from the riverbed to build their home. Leonhardt confirmed it was. He said a similar situation occurred south of Burlington. However, it was not close enough to a bridge to warrant structure concerns.  
Jolley wondered if enough material had been taken to change the channel. Leonhardt said he would be going to the location to take photos and measure the elevation. He said “Anytime you dig in the river you are supposed to consult with the Army Corps of Engineers in case  it changes the channel. Shannan (Hovey, the south-end county road/bridge supervisor) is going to go and tell them to stop digging over there and to see if they had done what they are supposed to do to be able to dig in there. Regardless they should not be digging that close to the bridge.”
Commissioner Dave Neves asked if the area that was being dug is within the county’s right of way. Leonhardt said yes.
BEAVER CREEK ROAD
Also discussed was Beaver Creek Road. There have been complaints about the condition of the road since the Leavitt Reservoir project started.  Leonhardt said the road was not built to withstand the weight or travel frequency of large/commercial construction equipment/trucks. “Willie (Bridges) met with the contractor and the engineer out there about what their haul trucks are doing to that road. Went over what their plan is to maintain through the project and then fix it afterwards.”
For now, the contractor will grade and patch a few spots. Bridges plans to meet with the contractor going forward to make sure the road is left in good condition once construction is complete.
Leonhardt said that the road condition was part of the discussion prior to the project starting
SHELL CREEK
The county has received the reconnaissance reports for the Shell Creek and Rairden bridges. The reports came from WYDOT and Jacob’s Engineering. Leonhardt said they are the official in-depth reports that document the deterioration of the bridges and why they need to be replaced. The reports gave recommendations.
OTHER BUSINESS
• Right-of-way permits were approved for Jones/Lane 43, Wyoming Gas Company/Lane 40, Florom/Road 5 ½ and REA/Lane 36 ½.
• Leonhardt said WYDOT will be grading and fixing some of the bad spots on Lane 38.