In 1964, floods washed out the Mad Creek Bridge, and two culverts were placed to allow for a road.
Mad Creek "Before"
The 6-foot diameter culverts were not large enough, though, and the small diameter created higher velocity flows, which were a problem for both adult and juvenile fish, and did not allow for the proper passage of debris. The 3-foot drop created by the angle of the culverts carved two separate channels in the gravel bank, and was an impassable object for juvenile and most adult fish.
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has determined that this reach of Mad Creek has one of the highest steelhead spawning densities in the North Santiam Basin.
A City of Salem survey, conducted by forest hydrologist Chip Andrus of Water Works, Inc., confirmed an earlier Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife assessment finding of a man-made obstacle to fish passage.
Mad Creek "After"
The North Santiam Watershed Council and its stakeholders pursued funding for the project, and engineers designed a bridge that would solve the problems created by the culverts. Linn County contracted for removal of the culverts and construction of the bridge, completed in approximately 2 ½ month by Western Excavation of Eugene.
The resulting bridge allows for free water flow passage, facilitates the passage of much larger debris, and has connected the stream channel with its flood plain. In addition, the chance of road failure has been minimized, and chance of overwhelming the City of Salem’s water filtration facility with silt in high flow times is greatly reduced. Juvenile and adult fish are now able to pass freely, and almost four miles of habitat that was once blocked is now accessible to spawning fish.
This project was funded through generous support from our partners at the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, the City of Salem, the United States Forest Service, and For The Sake of Salmon, and in-kind donations from Linn Count, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Oregon Department of Forestry, local landowners, and the numerous North Santiam Watershed Council Volunteers.
