Oliver Bridge on the Carp River, before construction of the new stress lamented bridge. - Courtesy photo by Conservation Resource Alliance.

The new stress laminated Oliver Road Bridge on the Carp River. - Courtesy photo by Conservation Resource Alliance.

The ribbon cutting ceremony on the Oliver Road Bridge over the Carp River in Michigan. - FWS photo

Heather Rawlings, Alpena Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office, and Rick Westerhof, Green Bay FWCO, attended the dedication of the Oliver Road Timber Bridge on the Carp River, on June 29. 

The dedication was the combined effort of nearly 20 agencies and organizations starting in 1999 to remove the single largest negative impact to fish habitat and water quality in the Carp River, a Lake Michigan tributary.

The Conservation Resource Alliance (CRA) spearheaded the project that cost $224,000, plus in kind contributions of $17,600.  Several Fish and Wildlife Service offices worked together to get the project done. 

Stewart Cogswell, Green Bay FWCO, provided funding through the National Fish Passage Program ($50,000), while Heather Rawlings, Alpena FWCO, and Carrie Tansy, East Lansing Ecological Services, provided technical expertise dealing with the Hungerford’s crawling water beetle, an endangered riffle beetle that is found in only four watersheds in Northern Michigan and Ontario.

The benefits from the timber bridge included a reduction of an estimated 10 tons/year of sand into the river, opened up 11 miles upstream for migratory and resident fish, improved appearance and reduced flooding potential and maintenance costs.  The stress laminated bridge design was new and was constructed like a cutting board with slabs of southern pine and red pine held together with large bolts and nuts.  It took a crew of eight to build the bridge in only 40 days.

The dedication went off with a hitch and was very well organized and attended.  Some of the agencies or offices represented were:  Harold Chase, Senator Carl Levin’s Office, Brandon Fewins, Senator Debbie Stabenow’s Office, United States Dept. of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, Michigan Dept. of Environmental Quality, Emmet County Road Commission, DTE, Northwest Design Group, Paradise Lake Association, and Petoskey-Harbor Springs Area Community Foundation, and local private landowners.