by Brian Campbell, Facilities Director
The past week was definitely an exciting one for Adam Mims, Ben Yates and myself as we set out to replace the old and worn-out bridge rails on the Battle Ax Bridge. The rails have been on the bridge for over a decade and were decidedly showing their age while also reflecting the heavy use that 
they had endured. The rough cut lumber and the raw branches that made up the structure of the old bridge rails were in keeping with the rustic theme that effortlessly presents itself in Jawbone Flats. The integrity of the rails however, as a safe support for the elbows and bellies of visitors to Opal Creek, showed early signs of compromise. So, while the new rails are not of that same rustic bearing they are vastly more strong and stable. They should easily give our visitors at least another decade of safe viewing of the creek as it rushes its final stretch of Battle Ax and upon meeting Opal Creek, becomes the Little North Fork of the Santiam River.
Work on the bridge took about two days longer than expected 
but went smoothly and without incident. The old rails yielded to our pry-bars, hammers and wrenches; within a few hours we had stripped the upstream portion of the bridge rails down to the decking. We spent the rest of that day prepping the site for the installation of the new rails, ambitious to implement our plan and see how the new rails would look and function. The next day we watched as the rails quickly rose up in front of us and we were quite pleased with how they, “fit in,” with the style of the bridge. We were all happy with the outcome and excited to do the same to the other side, however, I did have a bit of regret over the hand-held radio I lost over the edge near the end of that work day. Turns out that those things don’t work very well after they’ve been submerged in the water….go figure.
The next day we returned to finish our job but, we soon discovered that the second side was going to need much more work than the first. The decking on this side would need to be replaced entirely so that we could be certain of a strong base to attach the new rails to. We spent nearly the whole of that day remedying this issue and retired, once again certain that we would finish our job the following day. In the morning we returned to the site and everything
went smoothly, although there were some tense moments as we leaned far out over the unbounded edge to secure the bolts through the decking and risked a 25 foot drop into an icy cold pool. Luckily no one had to take that frigid plunge and we finished installing the rails without any trouble.
And so finally, after one last short day of fine tuning the aesthetics of our project and cleaning up our mess we were once again able to lean on the rails of the Battle Ax Bridge and watch the crystal clear water froth at the base of the falls before gathering its composure again to run its last short stretch as the Battle Ax Creek. It is a view that many of you have seen before- a view that I hope will endure unchanged, for countless generations to enjoy.
For current views of the new bridge, and of Jawbone, please go to our webcam .