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KITTITAS COUNTY <br />DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS <br />PUBLIC WORKS — BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS <br />2023 STUDY SESSION STAFF REPORT <br />STUDY SESSION DATE: April 24, 2023 <br />TOPIC: McElroy Bridge Update <br />ACTION REQUESTED: Direct Staff <br />LEAD STAFF: <br />Mark R. Cook <br />RECOMMENDATION: <br />Direct staff notice Elk Meadows Homeowners Association (EMHOA) of staff s decision <br />directing additional bridge repairs or replacement meeting minimum private bridge <br />standards. <br />BRIEFING SUMMARY: <br />• Responding to a failure of McElroy Bridge (12/13/2021), Public Works (PW) <br />issued a temporary flood development permit allowing for temporary reuse of the <br />repaired bridge. <br />• The Flood Control Zone District (FCZD) recently completed a hydraulic <br />evaluation of the Easton Reach (Yakima River) and has determined the existing <br />bridge cannot remain in its current configuration. <br />• The bridge is one foot under water during the 100 -year storm flow on the Yakima <br />River. <br />• The existing one -lane bridge is twelve feet wide — bridge rail to bridge rail. <br />• Currently, county private bridge minimum width requirements are for a minimum <br />width of 22 feet (bridge rail to bridge rail). <br />• PW utilizes the Washington State Department of Transportation Hydraulics <br />Manual (M23-03) to develop required flood freeboard (greater than 15 foot of <br />bank full width requires three feet above the 100 -year flow event). <br />BACKGROUND: <br />The December 13, 2021, the McElroy Bridge failure in Elk Meadows required immediate <br />repair of the bridge allowing several full-time residents access to the far shore of the <br />Yakima River. Responding to the crisis, the FCZD and PW issued a temporary flood <br />development permit (EXHIBIT 1) and expedited private bridge permit. Both permits <br />were issued with clear communication to the Elk Meadows Homeowners Association that <br />the bridge fate was dependent on further analysis by the county. The analysis is <br />complete, and the bridge is not compliant with Federal Emergency Management Agency <br />floodway regulations. The temporary bridge is also not compliant with PW private <br />bridge standards (EXHIBIT 2). <br />Page 1 of 5 <br />Public Works "Work Session Staff Report", 2023 <br />