Bridge Into Sourdough Campground Reopened After Being Damaged By High Water

BLM Worked With Army Corps & Fish & Game For Permits. Bridge Open Again  

The bridge into Sourdough Creek Campground. (Journal photos, June 1st, 2021) 

High water this spring washed out one end of Sourdough Bridge and detached the bridge from the road. Sourdough Creek Campground is maintained by BLM in Glennallen and is located at Mile 147.5 on the Richardson, on the Gulkana River.The campground has 42 campsites.

On June 28th, BLM wrote that gravel and rock were delivered to the site and heavy equipment operators from Tetlin Wildlife Refuge came to help and fix the bridge. It is now once again usable after for the 2021 summer season. 

The bridge is scheduled for replacement in 2022 after next spring's high waters go down. Until then, a temporary bridge will provide access to the campground and boat launch while construction work happens, says BLM.  

Alysia Hancock, of the Glennallen BLM office, told the Journal on June 2nd:

"The Sourdough campground road has washed out on the east bank where the road connected to the bridge that goes over Sourdough Creek. Spring thaw, ice and high water eroded away at the road. There is now a significant hole between the road and the bridge. 

We have submitted to our state office the statement of work to get the road repaired. It will go out to bid for anyone to bid on to fix the damage. We are also working on getting Corps of Engineers and Fish and Game permits to do the repair. 

This is a priority for us to fix and we understand how important this access point is for the Gulkana River. 

We are giving weekly updates on our BLM Alaska Facebook pages."