Forest Service to repair damaged road

MINERAL COUNTY – A damaged culvert north of St. Regis on Forest Service land is posing a hazard to the public and a F.S. representative expressed their desire to repair the structure before county commissioners on Friday, Aug. 22 at the commissioner’s annual meeting.

Primarily due to heavier than normal runoff, erosion around the double culvert eventually led to the destruction of the road which has since been closed. It was determined that the erosion began around the structure with water eventually running underneath and in between the two culverts which led to the washout of the road just off the South Fork Little Joe Road.

F.S. District Ranger Tawnya Brummett told commissioners that in order to preserve public safety and reopen the road, repair work needed to be done as soon as possible.

“That road isn’t crossable anymore by any vehicle,” Brummett said. “We have runoff every year but this one is in a popular area. What we are dealing with now is how to fix it. At the Forest Service now we are working on how to get the funding to do the work.”

Brummett said before the work can commence, F.S. has to go through a permitting process with the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The specific permit the organization must attain is called a Montana Stream Protection Act permit or SPA 124 permit.

According to the Montana state government website, “any agency or subdivision of state, county or city government proposing a project that may affect the bed or banks of any stream in Montana,” must apply for the permit before work can begin. The site is directly on the Little Joe Creek.

The information continues to state, activities requiring a permit include, “any project including the construction of new facilities or the modification, operation and maintenance of an existing facility that may affect the natural existing shape and form of any stream or its banks or tributaries.”

Brummett said the timeline for the work was unknown and that the project was still in the development stage. She also said before the repairs can start, F.S. personnel will have to go to the site, figure out exactly why the damage occurred and determine what is the best way to handle the problem.

“Our engineers will go out and see whether it was an undersized culvert or if maybe it was placed at a bad angle,” Brummett said. “We work in cooperation with Fish, Wildlife and Parks biologists because one of their concerns is the fisheries and the stream.”

Over the next two weeks, Brummett said she would be working with other F.S. personnel to develop a plan for repairing the damage. She agreed to meet with commissioners at a future meeting to tell them what they come up with, how much it will cost and when the work will be done.

“I will have the plan, as far as what we are doing, when we are doing it and how we are paying for it by Sept. 2,” Brummett said.

The site is located approximately ten miles southwest of St. Regis.