LAKE SHURE ESTATES, N.D. - It's a temporary fix, but Chad Larson will take it.
Friday will mark three weeks since flooded roads forced Larson and other Lake Shure Estates residents between West Fargo and Harwood to begin boating back and forth between their water-locked homes and their vehicles parked on a dry road.
Cass County Engineer Keith Berndt on Wednesday announced plans to build a temporary bridge across a washed-out section of 52nd Avenue North just west of Lake Shure Estates to give the development's roughly 30 homeowners vehicle access to Cass County 17.
Larson has been among residents taking turns driving the boats. He estimated he made two dozen to three dozen boat trips on Sunday alone.
"It's going to be nice to be able to drive in and out," he said. "The boating is just a huge inconvenience every time you want to go somewhere."
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Industrial Builders of Fargo started the bridge work Wednesday afternoon. Crews will narrow the washout with clay fill and lay a 24-foot-long bridge deck made of beams and metal grate across the washout, Berndt said.
"It isn't something we expect will be suitable for long-term use or heavy truck traffic or anything like that," he said. "It's just a means of temporarily getting automobiles in and out."
Crushed concrete may be piled at each end to support the bridge, and steel sheeting will be used to hold the clay fill in place and prevent fast-moving water from washing it away, Berndt said.
Reed Township had tried to restore access to Lake Shure Estates by filling in the road from the north with rock, but the current was too strong, township board Chairman Mark McAllister said.
The county recently completed a study on options for raising a bridge to maintain access for Lake Shure residents, but no decisions have been made and a detailed cost estimate isn't available, Berndt said.
The metal grate being used for the temporary bridge was left over from the replacement of the County Road 20/
Wall Street Bridge over the Red River in 2006, Berndt said.
He didn't have a firm estimate of the bridge's cost, but said it will probably be about $25,000 if things go well. County officials hope the federal government will reimburse the county for part of the cost.
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Readers can reach Forum reporter Mike Nowatzki at (701) 241-5528
