Demolition and removal of the damaged bridge
During Pisgah Project Day in April 2025, a dozen community volunteers worked side-by-side with the Pisgah Cowboys to demolish and remove the previous bridge that had been severely damaged during Helene. This preparation work to clear the site allowed our Trail Crew to begin the process of constructing the new bridge with a clean slate.
Challenging materials transport and pre-construction planning
The bridge site is about 1-mile in on the trail and is positioned high on the loop. This meant the Trail Crew had to transport tools and materials for abutments, sills, and decking utilizing our canycom trackhauler.
The replacement bridge needed to be 35-feet long and would be decked with rough sawn lumber. Due to the bridge site being difficult to access, the Trail Crew was unable to haul in materials that would be large enough to span the distance needed for the new bridge. As a result, they harvested native materials from the bridge site to make the two log stringers.
WIth the complicated nature of building a two-log stringer bridge and then decking it, the Trail Crew mocked up the bridge a short distance up the trail to ensure everything would turn out just right.
Building the entire bridge (sans decking) beforehand as a mock-up exercise allowed the crew to get the cuts and measurements right. This was especially important given the difficulty of doing this work with the stringers in place over an open span 15 feet off the ground.
Bridge beam placement and completion
After getting the new bridge structure dialed in, they used rigging techniques to “fly” the stringers over one at a time. With the stringers in place, they then completed the decking process and constructed hand rails.
Lastly, they constructed ramps on both sides of the bridge to allow for easier bike access given that North Slope trail is seasonally open to bike use. Construction of the replacement bridge was completed in July 2025.
