DESCRIPTION
The Adopt A Stream Foundation proposes a Designs Project with the goal of removing an
abandon railroad bridge that spans Reach 1 of Lower mainstem Woods Creek
immediately upstream of the Al Borlin Park.
Project deliverables:
-Preliminary engineered designs for removal and restoration of site.
-Determine an environmentally sound and economical way to extract from the streambed and
dispose of the creosote wood and pilings.
-Secure Landowner Agreement.
-Secure letter of support and possibly matching from City of Monroe and from BNSF.
- Work with Monroe Historical Society and DAHP to developed way to remove the bridge while
also preserving the sites historical significance, possibly by developing an
interpretive sign.
This abandoned bridge is detrimental to the health of Woods Creek and interrupts
vital stream processes such as LWD and sediment transport along with leaching
toxic creosote into the system. This bridge has numerous creosote pilings that act as a massive trash rack and
accumulate large quantities of LWD, LWD that is periodically removed by BNSF
workers and stockpiled on the bank often to be cutup by locals for firewood. Initial conversation with BNSF
in 2012 suggest neither BNSF nor it predecessors ever owned this potion of the Cedar Falls to Monroe rail line. BNSF
removes drift from this bridge only to project the mainline bridge located just upstream.
The low gradient off channel habitat of Reach 1 serves as important reari
The Adopt A Stream Foundation produced preliminary design deliverables and secured initial support to remove an abandon railroad bridge that spans Reach 1 of lower mainstem Woods Creek immediately upstream of Al Borlin Park in Monroe. Designs specify the a) preferred approach for removing to 150 foot long, 30-feet high railroad bridge with more than 45 creosote-treated log pilings, b) riparian habitat restoration activities, and c) addition of mid-channel and bank-based large wood structures to maintain instream complexity.
Reach 1 of Lower Woods Creek provides crucial off-channel rearing habitat for juvenile Chinook and other salmonids from both Woods Creek and the Skykomish river. It is documented that Chinook salmon use reach 1 for spawning as well as rearing. According to the Woods Creek Habitat Conditions Report (2013), fish production in this reach is limited by low LWD volumes and frequency, unstable banks, high sediment loading and shallow pools. Wood regularly racks up on the bridges, creates debris jams, and sometimes these jams become very large, often ten feet or more in vertical height. Large debris jams impede fish passage and interfere with sediment transport.