Rob_E

Sorry, I know there was just a thread on this, but I'm not seeing it. After worrying that the weather was going to make the stream crossing less feasible, I learned that a temporary crossing had been put in place. Yesterday I used it and took photos. Still have to push your bike up a steep-ish incline, but you don't have to get your feet wet.
Don't know if I can upload photos from my phone. Will try in a reply or add them later.

Rob_E

alan s 

Good to know. Doesn’t look very sturdy, but it’s far better than it was before.

spinnaker

Looks like a huge improvement.

phughes

Lol It looks as if it were wider, you could drive a car across it. It is plenty sturdy for a bicycle.

alan s 

Not sturdy, meaning raging flood water will probably wipe it out in a matter of minutes. This is a creek that rises rapidly during heavy downpours.

Rob_E

Right on both counts, I expect. The crossing felt plenty sturdy, but the person I talked to about about it expressed the same reservations about it's ability to stand up to more flooding. After all, this appears to be standing in for a much more "permanent" structure that was also washed away.

spinnaker

Well if this one is washed away then it will be cheap and easy to replace. Maybe this is the way to go?

PedalingWalrus

I remember the crossing to be much higher - did they basically bulldoze it down or is this in a different section ? Is it next to the railroad track (from the original crossing) or more downstream from the original crossing?

Rob_E

The 2nd set of photos I took are of the washed out bridge and of the railroad crossing. They were taken while crossing the new, temporary crossing, so it's downstream of both previous bridge and the railroad. The original bridge still exists, partially. I don't know if they plan to rebuild it.

alan s 

I’m sure it will be rebuilt eventually. The Federal government moves at a snail’s pace. Probably in the budget for 2025. Looks to be a 6 month project that will take 6 years to complete.

jpescatore

6/30/19 update - new low bridge is in place, hasn't washed away yet!

We had numerous thunderstorms in the past week. The construction traffic on the tow path between Brunswick and the temporary bridge created lots of ruts which are deep puddles right now, some spanning the full path. On the downstream side, less muddy on the way to the Catoctin aqueduct but more mud puddles than typical - lots of riders were skunk striped on their backs and looked a bit shell-shocked!

Rob_E

Went the length of the trail two weeks ago and it sounds pretty much the same. Fenders and relatively wide, knobby tires kept me from having to put a foot down in general and kept my back mostly clean, but I met a group that was speeding down the trail in two days, and they were covered in mud, and I saw a traveling pair at a lunch stop who had shed their muddy shoes and were walking around in socks to prevent spreading C&O Canal trail all over the restaurant floor. I feel like the worst of it was the stretch closest to Cumberland and the stretch around past Brunswick. Got better after getting close to DC. Also they were paving the trail just west of Harpers Ferry, and, while the actual, paved section was fine, and so was the part of the trail they had prepped for paving, it was an unpleasant stretch negotiating with the construction equipment. The were all very aware and careful of the cyclists, but it's still not pleasant riding when the equipment is almost as wide as the trail.

Glad the bridge is holding up. I read on the Facebook page that this bridge is indeed meant to be temporary, and a more permanent structure is planned, but it doesn't sound like there are plans to rebuild the specific bridge that washed out.

indyfabz

Thanks. Those photos were extremely helpful for those of us who had no idea of what used to be there. Water is some powerful stuff.