Replacing the Historic Cherry Lane Bridge

Editor: Ashley Steele

The Cherry Lane Bridge in Nez Perce County, Idaho was built in 1919 as a 15-foot wide 788-foot-long bridge. At over 100 years old, the bridge was eligible to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places. However, due to corrosion, cracking and splitting the bridge will need to be replaced instead of restored. The new structure will be able to transport semi-trucks, as the old one was unable to handle their weight and size.  This will allow for faster transportation times, as many trucks had to detour around this bridge to haul freight. 
The five span truss bridge will be replaced with a 4-span steel plate and concrete girder bridge.  With a total cost of $20.8 Million dollars, Nez Perce County turned to federal grants to help cover the cost of such a project. Awarded the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development Grant, this was enough to cover over $15 Million of the project costs.  

Cascade Bridge based out of Vancouver, Washington will be handling this project from start up to the final demolition of the old bridge. The Company will be overcoming unique weather conditions as well as fish mitigation issues throughout. Unable to begin the project until July 1st due to the "fish window", the pre-planning phase of this job was integral to ensure no aquatic habitats or mating season areas were disrupted during construction.  

The use of two ICE® I-30 diesel impact hammers was selected to drive the 24" caissons into the riverbed. The diesel hammers along with two ICE®155 spotters with lead set ups, allowed the construction to move along quickly and efficiently, with only minimal disruption to surrounding habitats.  Using two diesel hammers simultaneously, allowed the company to work from both sides of the riverbed meeting in the middle to complete the structure.  This technique also allowed Cascade Bridge to finish within the "fish window" timeline. 

 On April 6th of 2021, work was halted on excavation efforts of the soil, after finding historic artifacts that were believed to belong to the Nez Perce Tribe of the area.  The project has since resumed and has a projected completion date of May 2023. 

Media Contact- 
Pollyanna Cunningham, MA, MBA 
Director Marketing, Brand and Media Relations 
ICE® - International Construction Equipment, Inc 
Office - 704-821-8200 
Email - marketing@iceusa.com