The Project:
The construction of the Horsethief Creek Bridge served to aid in the protection of the endangered Arroyo Toad, which populates this area of Hesperia, CA. The new bridge was built to allow the endangered species to travel freely through the existing streambed, while providing additional access for the State of California Department of Water Resources to the Mojave Siphon Power Plant and aqueduct.
The jobsite was located in an active streambed, surrounded by wetlands and vernal pools. TBP designed and implemented extensive dewatering systems approved by both the State of California and independent environmental protection agencies, and maintained them throughout the duration of the project. The TBP team took special environmental precautions to not kill any of the endangered species. If a toad was spotted on-site, construction activities were halted while the amphibian was captured and removed from the site.
Prior to construction of the new bridge, TBP deconstructed existing culverts that were trapping the endangered species. The bridge was constructed of recycled railroad flatcars supported by concrete columns. Active overhead power lines were de-activated each morning to facilitate the drilling and pouring of twenty 40’ caissons and the placement of the flatcars. Despite environmental and logistics challenges, TBP achieved a 21-day schedule saving while pouring the support columns. |
