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East Boise’s Eckert Bridge closed after inspection reveals structural decay

Ada County Highway District

Ada County Highway District has closed the Eckert Road Bridge in east Boise after finding significant decay on the support structure of the bridge. Commissioners unanimously approved the emergency closure during a special meeting Friday, only about an hour after ACHD Staff received the inspection report.

“They found moderate to severe decay of 22 out of the 48 pillars of the bridge,” Director Ryan Head told commissioners. “On pier six, which is the center pier of the bridge, five out of the six piles were considered to be in severe decay,” he added.

Eckert Road is outside the entrance to Barber Park and the bridge is a wooden structure built in 1954 to cross the Boise River. A shorter span nearby crosses the Ridenbaugh Canal.

Head said ACHD staff considered keeping the bridge open with a three-ton weight limit, which would have limited crossings to passenger vehicles, but they deemed that too hard to enforce and not in the best interest of public safety.

The closure will affect school bus routes and emergency response, Head said, and it would have either way because those vehicles would have exceeded the weight limit.

Ada County Highway District

It’s not clear yet what may have led to such fast decay. Head said the results were surprising. “The last time we did this type of in-depth evaluation was five years ago, and there was severe deterioration from the last assessment to what we found this week,” he said.

Commissioners urged fast repair, and said they’d explore a request for emergency funding through the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Head said his staff intends to prioritize repair the same way they did for the Cloverdale I-84 overpass after it was damaged due to a truck fire.

This is a breaking news story and may be updated as new information becomes available.

Troy Oppie is a reporter and local host of 'All Things Considered' for Boise State Public Radio News.

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