Lake Shore Drive Over Wycamp Creek Timber Bridge

GFA worked with the Emmet County Road Commission and the Little Traverse Bay of Odawa Indians for a stream crossing replacement on Lake Shore Drive over Wycamp Creek near Cross Village, Michigan. The project was completed with grant funding from the National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). The existing stream crossing conveyed the flows from a 22.5 square mile watershed and consisted of an undersized 6 foot diameter corrugated metal culvert that was hindering stream flows and fish passage due to turbulent flows at the crossing. GFA performed a Type, Span & Length (TS&L) analysis on the crossing to evaluate stream crossing options including box culverts, open bottom arches and timber bridges, and it was determined that a timber bridge was the most suitable option for this crossing due do the hydraulics and fish passage given the crossings proximity to the creeks outlet to Lake Michigan.  The crossing replacement included the installation of a new 34' wide by 62' span timber bridge, raising the vertical grade of Lake Shore Drive nearly 5 feet to correct the severity of the existing sag curve, installing new guardrail, and streambed improvements. The project was completed in the summer of 2024 by John Henry Excavating, Inc. GFA provided full construction engineering, testing and inspection in accordance with NRCS requirements and construction staking for the project. Since construction was completed, natural flows have returned to Wycamp Creek at the Lake Shore Drive crossing.