On July 23, 1998 the Jordan
Valley Irrigation District’s Southside Canal flume bridge over Jordan Creek
failed. The bridge is located off of U.S. 95, 30 miles south of Jordan
Valley. The 270 foot long flume bridge which carries 3,800 inches of
irrigation water provides service to 30 water users and 7,989 acres. The
failure occurred during a very critical time in the irrigation season.
Jordan Valley Irrigation District immediately hired an engineering
consultant to prepare plans to repair or replace the bridge. The District
became dissatisfied and fired the original engineer after five weeks.
On Friday, August 28, Jordan Valley Irrigation District asked Leavitt
Engineering to take over the project. General contractor,
Yanke Machine Shop; concrete contractor, Universal Construction; and Leavitt
Engineering joined together to form a design construct team to fast track
the project.
Over that weekend, we prepared preliminary design
calculations and sketches with which to begin the project. The preliminary
design called for a 124 foot long steel half-round flume overland and a 145
foot long 120 inch diameter full-round 3-span tubular steel bridge over
Jordan Creek. Preliminary design was completed on the following Wednesday
and materials for fabrication were ordered. By the next Monday, structural
design was finalized.
On September 9, construction staking to locate the piers and foundations was
completed. Final drawings were completed on September 13, two weeks after
beginning the project. Foundations were poured on September 14. Fabrication
and field installation was completed and water was turned on October 18. The
total project cost for the 270 foot long steel flume bridge, concrete
foundations, and new inlet structure was around $275,000.
At
Leavitt Engineering, we enjoy design-construct fast-track
projects. Project owners benefit from design-construct because of better
project coordination and control. Design-construct also helps to speed up
project completion and reduce overall project cost. We enjoyed working with
Glen Caywood, Board Chairman for the Irrigation District and all of the
people at Jordan Valley.
