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By LAURIE ROWLAND

MCCARTHY, AK—Construction of the Kennicott River Service Bridge began on April 19, just moments after general contractor Keith Rowland got the official go-ahead from the State of Alaska DNR. This marks an exciting and historic moment for McCarthy area residents.

The bridge is being constructed from one 40-ft. span and two 90-ft. spans supported by two, four-foot diameter steel piers excavated to a depth of at least 12 feet. The bridge is located approximately ¼ mile downstream from the foot bridge, and is entirely on Rowland’s privately owned property, including approaches. Because the bridge is not located on a public easement and is entirely privately funded, it will be a gated, fee-for-use facility not open to the public.

The project actually began over a year ago, when Mr. Rowland, owner of ROWCON Services, submitted his permit application to several government offices, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DEC, DF&G, and DNR. Initially, Mr. Rowland’s application was met with a sense of incredulity by the regulating offices. During a meeting in the DNR office, one caseworker reportedly dismissed the whole idea as impossible. “She just looked at me in disbelief and said, ‘You can’t build a bridge across the Kennicott River. That’s DOT’s job!’ So I asked for a different caseworker,” Rowland said. Eventually, however, the permit applications were processed by the different permitting agencies involved with the project.

Public interest is high, as was shown by the flood of public comments. Amazingly, in a town where access issues are normally highly controversial, the comments were overwhelmingly supportive. Most residents consider the gated bridge concept to be a positive solution to McCarthy’s access and freighting needs.

To date, both supporting piers have been set, and Mr. Rowland is preparing to set the first section of decking in place. WSEN will keep you informed of developments as they unfold.