View Full Version : Rausch Creek bridge deteriorating!!
shelterbuilder
03-23-2008, 12:41
Hikers in the vicinity of the Rausch Gap shelter in Pa. should be aware that the old stone arch bridge over Rausch Creek (near the acid minewater treatment empoundment) has deteriorated to the point where it is no longer considered safe by the Pa. Game Commission. The PGC will be closing it to ALL traffic (foot, horse, bike, and vehicular) soon, if they have not already done so.
Blue Mountain Eagle Climbing Club had a team in the field on Saturday, scouting for an alternate route around the bridge, but nothing has been decided yet. Since this section of the trail is on State Game Lands, the changes must be approved by the Game Commision as well as BMECC and ATC. All hikers in this area should be aware of this problem, and should watch for signs and temporary trail re-locations in this area. I will try to keep this communtiy advised about this situation as it changes.
Until the bridge is replaced and/or or the AT temporarily or permanently relocated, what's BMECC advising hikers to do in the event the bridge is closed?
I suspect I'm not the only person who will find your post prompts more questions than it provides answers. Can Rausch Creek be forded or rock-hopped?
Toolshed
03-23-2008, 13:13
Thanks for the heads up. I was going to head out there Saturday but ended up on the Pinchot Trail instead.
shelterbuilder
03-23-2008, 13:14
Until the bridge is replaced and/or or the AT temporarily or permanently relocated, what's BMECC advising hikers to do in the event the bridge is closed?
I suspect I'm not the only person who will find your post prompts more questions than it provides answers. Can Rausch Creek be forded or rock-hopped?
Since I don't have the answers to this yet, I'll leave my original post stand as is. For now, it's FYI only.
Since the bridge is on one of Pa.'s rail-trails, and is used by disabled hunters with vehicle permits as well as PGC officials in the performance of their duties, my GUESS is that, at some point, the bridge MIGHT be replaced. But bridge-building is a high-priced undertaking - it might be a long time. And as for rock-hopping, the dangers are inherent - especially at this time of year, with Spring run-off levels increasing the volume and the speed of the water in the creek.
I just want folks to know that there is a problem, and that it is being addressed, but the solutions - both temporary and ultimate - may be some time down the road. If you visit the area, be prepared for a problem, and follow whatever signs are posted.
fiddlehead
03-23-2008, 19:30
Can't you ford the river upstream a bit? I seem to remember this as being a pretty small stream although perhaps a bit deep right where the bridge is.
Does the AT really need a bridge at every crossing? Look around for a ford, there must be one around somewhere.
fiddlehead
03-23-2008, 19:46
Oh, pretty scary ford! Better close the trail. That bridge could fall down if a few hikers cross at the same time.
Lone Wolf
03-23-2008, 20:10
Hikers in the vicinity of the Rausch Gap shelter in Pa. should be aware that the old stone arch bridge over Rausch Creek (near the acid minewater treatment empoundment) has deteriorated to the point where it is no longer considered safe by the Pa. Game Commission. The PGC will be closing it to ALL traffic (foot, horse, bike, and vehicular) soon, if they have not already done so.
Blue Mountain Eagle Climbing Club had a team in the field on Saturday, scouting for an alternate route around the bridge, but nothing has been decided yet. Since this section of the trail is on State Game Lands, the changes must be approved by the Game Commision as well as BMECC and ATC. All hikers in this area should be aware of this problem, and should watch for signs and temporary trail re-locations in this area. I will try to keep this communtiy advised about this situation as it changes.
oh hell! gonna need the ferryman on this one! :D:rolleyes:
But I've heard if you cross early in the morning you'll be OK!
Lone Wolf
03-23-2008, 20:21
But I've heard if you cross early in the morning you'll be OK!
it's calf deep year round :D
swellbill
03-23-2008, 20:23
Downstream where the old foundations, wells & privys are you should be able to cross without wetting a foot. Upstream...well maybe stay above the lime injection sluiceway thingy. You'll eventually dry out
Lone Wolf
03-23-2008, 20:28
Downstream where the old foundations, wells & privys are you should be able to cross without wetting a foot. Upstream...well maybe stay above the lime injection sluiceway thingy. You'll eventually dry out
or just cross where the bridge is out. christ. ain't but a thing :rolleyes: any of y'all hiked maine in may/june? likely not.:)
swellbill
03-23-2008, 20:38
or just cross where the bridge is out. christ. ain't but a thing :rolleyes: any of y'all hiked maine in may/june? likely not.:)
I'm bringin a Leki pole vault stick just in case
Anyone ever seen that arch full of water?
I wonder if the bridge were vehicle restricted, if it would last.
shelterbuilder
03-23-2008, 21:22
Anyone ever seen that arch full of water?
I wonder if the bridge were vehicle restricted, if it would last.
That's the Game Commission's call, not mine! And the water actually is quite deep right under the bridge, although there are other places where you could - gasp - ford the stream! :eek:
I wasn't out with the inspection party from the club, so I don't know the actual condition - nor am I an engineer capable of making a structural inspection. Don't shoot the messenger, boys and girls....
Nice photo, squeeze.
aaroniguana
03-23-2008, 21:38
I'm an engineer. Looks fine to me. Hike on.
I'm an engineer. Looks fine to me. Hike on.
I'm an engineer too. Gimme a list of bridges you've approved so I can route around them.
aaroniguana
03-23-2008, 22:26
Approved? I'm an engineer for CSX. What would I know about bridges?
Approved? I'm an engineer for CSX. What would I know about bridges?
Well, that's a relief. I'm an instrumentation specialist. But some of those instruments were really big. Like a couple hundred tonnes of depleted uranium. I don't think the bridge is made of DU, though.
Lone Wolf
03-23-2008, 23:32
all you brainiacs know jack about fording
all you brainiacs know jack about fording
Trains don't Ford, they GE or something. Bombardier up here.
But to be truthful, LW, I'm ok in fords, but I'm not too crazy about sketchy log bridges. As for stone bridges, you have to be pretty unlucky to fall off one of those, even when it's been condemned.
you have to be pretty unlucky to fall off one of those, even when it's been condemned.
Very good point. One collapses and what do you have? a great pile of rocks spread across the creek to make rock-hopping easier.:)
Pokey2006
03-24-2008, 01:59
Um, I wouldn't even call that fording. Geez, more like a jump. Or a skip. Or a hop.
from today's Harrisburg newspaper web site:
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2008/03/rausch_gap_bridge_in_possible.html
Also I heard the A.T. formerly did not cross this bridge, but possibly upstream (compass north)?
Yup. It's official (http://www.ldnews.com/news/ci_8691411). It'd be a shame to lose the bridge, but it'll probably cost a mint to restore it.
Getting across the creek will be easy, even on a bike. It narrows upstream.
For the past probably twenty years, the Pa. Game Commission has been opening up the rail trail, which also runs over the bridge, to vehicular traffic twice a year. You can drive from Gold Mine Road to Ellendale Forge. You have to wonder if that contributed to the deterioration.
Even a fully loaded SUV is nothing compared to a steam locomotive and coal cars but 154 years of erosion is a bugger.
I didn't realize it had that much history on it. Glad I got to cross over it quite a few times...
Brandy Watts (the historian quoted in the Lebanon Daily News article c.coyle linked) has a site with much information on the railroad that once was, and its stops: http://home.earthlink.net/~brandy-comicsandpp/ and she leads history hikes every so often for SATC and other local groups.
Even a fully loaded SUV is nothing compared to a steam locomotive and coal cars but 154 years of erosion is a bugger.
Good point.
fiddlehead
03-25-2008, 20:25
Interesting article. For some reason, i always thought there was also some old Indian Village back there as well as a gold mine? Maybe I am confused?
It was always my favorite hike in PA to go from Lickdale (now trail has been rerouted thru Swatara State park) to Dehart dam, Rt 325) I've done that section at least a dozen times. Since i was 15 years old i believe.
I think the trail was rerouted to go across that bridge since i started hiking in there but am not sure. The memory isn't as good as it used to be.
On the Harrisburg newspaper web site this morning:
http://www.pennlive.com/news/patriotnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1206926711210830.xml&coll=1
(See, October is important because that's the annual driving tour on the RR grade...)
Wise Old Owl
04-05-2008, 14:25
Someone please PM me,
is this 40degrees 28' 49.36 N & 76degree 31' 54.16 W
I am looking a metal bridge - the discription is a stone bridge - where is it?
I don't have a good map within arm's length at the moment. The bridge in question spans Rausch Creek within SGL #211. If you'll refer to Pennsylvania State Game Lands (SGLs), Post #4 (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showpost.php?p=586976&postcount=4), it contains a link to PGC's website where you can download a map to see the bridge's location.
You may be looking at an image of Waterville Bridge over Swatara Creek farther east in Swatara State Park which is a metal bridge.
It would be helpful were someone to post good information regarding current conditions. For example, is there a decent rock-hop near the bridge or has a temporary trail route been established? Someone who wants to know might be able to get an answer by calling PGC. I don't know why BMECC hasn't posted anything more here or to their website -- they should.
I have more important things to do than drive out there and research the issue myself. I would think inquiring minds would want to know. I'd like to know myself, but I'm not that interested.
http://home.earthlink.net/~brandy-comicsandpp/ (http://home.earthlink.net/%7Ebrandy-comicsandpp/)
This web page (downlinking not allowed, photos copyrighted) - if you click "Start the Journey" then "S&S News and Events" in the left navigation pane - will then show you a recently acquired image of the base of the bridge. I got an e-mail saying stepping rocks are on the downstream side of the bridge. However I continue to await official word through channels on a designated detour to post more specific information to the SATC website.
Darwin again
04-14-2008, 13:51
Better set up permanent state staffing with an observation booth for a safety officer to observe the bridge so that nobody crosses it. Violators will be flogged, then perseocuted to the fullest extent of the stoopid!
All hikers who decide to ford will be required to wear yellow foam safety helmets (http://www.alimed.com/ProductDetail.asp?style=31728&fprd=Premium+Foam+Helmet&oid1=&oid2=) and water wings, as well as guvmint-approved Class 8 PFDs. And there will be a fee for fording, $12 bucks.
It's a stream, people.
shelterbuilder
04-14-2008, 19:50
...It would be helpful were someone to post good information regarding current conditions. For example, is there a decent rock-hop near the bridge or has a temporary trail route been established? Someone who wants to know might be able to get an answer by calling PGC. I don't know why BMECC hasn't posted anything more here or to their website -- they should.
I have more important things to do than drive out there and research the issue myself. I would think inquiring minds would want to know. I'd like to know myself, but I'm not that interested.
The reason that BMECC hasn't posted anything is that, so far, nothing has been settled yet. We're still trying to firm things up with the PGC, and this may take some time...don't get your knickers in a knot, Peter!! :eek:
When I hear something definite from BMECC's trailmaster, I'll post something here, but for now, there is no news. And since I've not been to the site myself, I'm not about to try to tell anyone what they should (or shouldn't) do about the crossing, except to say that if PGC posts any notice at the bridge, follow what they have posted.
I would enjoy hearing how high the water at that bridge has been in a flood situation. Like Floyd. Or some such event. Most of those old guys were pretty clever. Big enough, but not bigger than need be...
I believe Lyle who posted earlier crossed the bridge in 2006 around the time the water crested during what was the #4 flood event on the Schuyllkill River. It occurred to me to ask him earlier when everyone seemed to be acting like Rausch Creek is an invariable sylvan trickle.:rolleyes:
Click on Swatara Creek (http://www.trailjournals.com/photos.cfm?id=166658) to see what it looked like on June 28, 2006. That's the Swatara in the background. You might also want to read the journal entry for that day.
I saw the high water mark on blazed trees a few days later which nearly reached the blazes. Now that was more than just your ordinary gully-washer!
envirodiver
04-16-2008, 17:18
I'm not sure what to think about all of this.
Most of the trails I hike don't have bridges, unless it's a really big and bad river.
What about duct tape on it? Anybody try that yet?
shelterbuilder
04-16-2008, 20:16
For those who are not familiar with this section of trail, this is near the Rausch Gap shelter in State Game Lands 211. The bridge in question is an old railroad bridge that was part of a narrow-gauge line that hauled coal out from a small mining operation (and later, I believe, paying guests in to nearby resorts of the period). When the Game Commission took possession of the land, they turned the railroad grade into a service road, and later, into a rail-trail. The AT and this rail-trail run concurrently for about 2/10 of a mile, part of which is over this old stone arch bridge. Trout Unlimited has a stream reclamation project just a bit upstream from the bridge.
While the bridge is quite high, the creek directly under the bridge is very deep - deep enough at that point to drown in. It is not quite as deep either upstream or downstream, although there are deeper holes distributed everywhere.
More information on the railroad that bridge was built for: http://home.earthlink.net/~brandy-comicsandpp/
shelterbuilder
05-04-2008, 19:00
Okay folks - here it is! The re-location around the stone arch bridge is complete. BMECC had a good-sized work crew out there this morning, and the re-lo is done. This re-lo is only TEMPORARY: the Game Commission plans to arch a new bridge OVER the existing one sometime in late summer, and once this new bridge is complete, the trail will return to it's former route. (I'm told that this way, if enough interest is shown by historical groups, that a re-construction of the old stone arch bridge will still be possible.)
Now for the caution: the creek crossing is the best we could find, but it's not great. :( If you cross when there's a lot of water in the creek, PLEASE unfasten your pack belts, and be prepared to use your hands as well as your feet, because the rocks can be slippery. Poles would also help.
For northbounders, the re-lo turns LEFT where the blue-blazed trail leads RIGHT to the Rausch Gap Shelter. (The old route is blocked with branches and debris.) For southbounders, as you leave the woods and come to the gravel road at the EAST end of the bridge, go STRAIGHT ahead across the road. (The old route has been boarded shut by the Game Commission.) There are "RELOCATION" signs at both ends.
Folks, I took a look at the under-side of the old bridge - not only is the downstream side of the eastern abutment crumbled away, but several of the stones above the keystone have shifted out of place. PLEASE, for your own safety, stay off the bridge.
Temporary bridge installed end of last week:
http://www.whptv.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=7078E018-8005-41B2-915E-B7C1441403F6&gsa=true
shelterbuilder
07-02-2008, 16:15
:banana Well, that's a neat-looking contraption - looks Army-engineered. I didn't expect the temporary bridge to be installed much before the middle of August...the PGC must have fast-tracked this project.
Painted Turtle
07-02-2008, 17:06
Am I right to assume that the regular trail is now open? Heading south from 72 on Monday.
shelterbuilder
07-02-2008, 21:00
Am I right to assume that the regular trail is now open? Heading south from 72 on Monday.
I've heard nothing official from BMECC's Trailmaster, so the only thing that I can say is that you should assume that the temporary re-lo is still being used. HOWEVER, if you're heading south, you will come to the bridge BEFORE you would have to use the re-lo; if the temporary bridge is in place and is posted as being open, you'll see it. Let us know when you get back. Just remember that the stone bridge is structurally unsafe for any load (including a human) and stay off of THAT one.
:banana Well, that's a neat-looking contraption - looks Army-engineered.
I'm 99% certain that it came from ADM Welding of Warren, PA because they installed that type of unit on my property (which also happens to be on the GET) last month, only with a lower serial number. (I can't quite read the sticker on the end for absolute confirmation. :) ) It is quite an interesting setup they have and very good for the 40'-50' span class. (Meaning it won't be on the Kennebec. :D )
I was planning on passing through there today and hope to get some pictures for you. Would it be best to email them to SATC?
The Scribe
07-04-2008, 11:44
The reason that BMECC hasn't posted anything is that, so far, nothing has been settled yet. We're still trying to firm things up with the PGC, and this may take some time...don't get your knickers in a knot, Peter!! :eek:
When I hear something definite from BMECC's trailmaster, I'll post something here, but for now, there is no news. And since I've not been to the site myself, I'm not about to try to tell anyone what they should (or shouldn't) do about the crossing, except to say that if PGC posts any notice at the bridge, follow what they have posted.
Isn't this where technology and instant information gratification makes it worse? As a previous poster said, "it's a stream people." If you approach a stream and see a white blaze on the other side, you look at what you are dealt with and deal with it. You might cross in a straight line right toward that next white blaze or maybe the water level is up or down so you look for something more appealing.
And if you were hiking this section and not in contact with the outside world, you would get to this spot and deal with it, possibly by figuring out the best way across, or possibly by following whatever directions are posted at the bridge.
shelterbuilder
07-04-2008, 21:47
Isn't this where technology and instant information gratification makes it worse? As a previous poster said, "it's a stream people." If you approach a stream and see a white blaze on the other side, you look at what you are dealt with and deal with it. You might cross in a straight line right toward that next white blaze or maybe the water level is up or down so you look for something more appealing.
And if you were hiking this section and not in contact with the outside world, you would get to this spot and deal with it, possibly by figuring out the best way across, or possibly by following whatever directions are posted at the bridge.
I don't know if it makes it worse, but it makes it different. Yes, it is just a stream, but where this bridge crosses this stream, the stream is "less than optimal" for wading across. However, with the temporary bridge in place, the question is moot, and the problem is solved. As a maintaining club, BMECC's concern was that, even though the stone bridge was barricaded, people were jumping the barricades and walking across, which, given the type and amount of structural deterioration, was extremely hazardous. This was also the Game Commission's concern, but when you have to have two organizations (Pa. Game Commission and BMECC) working together, sometimes the word "quickly" isn't in the vocabulary.
"All's well that ends well."
I was planning on passing through there today and hope to get some pictures for you. Would it be best to email them to SATC?
Speaking for SATC, yes, if you're willing to e-mail pictures to the contact e-mail on the website and they are free to reproduce, we'd love to see them.
BMECC is the maintaining club Trail-north of the Rausch Gap shelter side trail inclusive of the shelter, thus BMECC is the maintaining club for the stream crossing. Perhaps they, too, would appreciate the pictures but I would send an e-mail first to confirm what they want before sending big attachments.