Sawyer River Road - Construction Equipment

While joining Damselfly and others on the Lowell and Anderson bushwhack Saturday 12/3/11, as we approached the washed out section, there was construction equipment parked there and surveying stakes in place. It was dark and we had a place to be, but it looks like there is a chance that the road may be repaired sooner than later. Its always closed in the winter, but maybe next spring it will be open.

A bunch of us did Carrigain in late september and I think I saw some wooden surveying stakes there already, though didn't see any construction equipment there... Would be cool to see some progress on the road next year.

I think they should do something like what the ADK group does at the Loj. leave rocks and dirt at the winter parking lot and ask every hiker to carry a cup of sand or a rock and eventually the washout will be filled in!

Jay

That's good news!

Given the depth and length of the washout, there is going to have to be a whole of hiker traffic to make much of a dent!

It's true there have been some stakes in place for some time. Perhaps what you saw was something new, I don't know.

As I looked at that enormous washout my feeling was that the best way to fix that road would be to try and somehow reinforce the bank that's there and bulldoze into the bank on the uphill side to make a bypass.

As you can see, since I'm not an engineer it's easy for me to daydream fixes without really knowing what can be done.

One thing is for sure, the culvert uphill from that washout, that was the cause of the washout, needs to be worked on.

peakbagger said:

Given the depth and length of the washout, there is going to have to be a whole of hiker traffic to make much of a dent!

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Maybe just leave it to the people doing the grid?

I'm an engineer but I doubt they'd listen to my suggestion of a ramp with a good paved runup to it.

Jay

I saw the construction equipment as well on my hike to Carrigain on Saturday. I'll share some photos and my post in trip reports when I get a moment. I think I have a photo on my home computer of the equipment that is there. I'll edit it to this post later.

EDIT* I don't seem to have the picture I thought I took, but there was a big backhoe/loader and I think a bulldozer.
There was a container of Prestone oil sitting there too?

That is good news, but its December, so I wonder when work will begin.

Here is a picture showing the stakes from Saturday.

Last time

The last time it washed out, it was a couple of years before it got fixed. I don't recall exactly what year this was, but maybe some of the better historians on this site will know.

I sure hope it is open by next spring. I could do without the roadwalk when it comes to to hit the Captain.

Brian

Hillwalker said:

The last time it washed out, it was a couple of years before it got fixed. I don't recall exactly what year this was, but maybe some of the better historians on this site will know.

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HI! I believe it was mentioned in the previous WMG as being out... I had THAT for a couple years before it was fixed I would guess around 2002-ish? So, it could have been roughly 5+? years? Anybody else with better estimates?

According to the older version of the The 4,000 Footers of the White Mountains (the blue one):

"1995: Sawyer River Rd. washed out by major October storm, is not repaired for three years."

Has there been another washout/repair since then?

Summerset said:

"1995: Sawyer River Rd. washed out by major October storm, is not repaired for three years."

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That washout added 4 miles to our Carraigan trip. Seems it happens every 5-10 years. Wonder if they considered the feasibility of relocating the vulnerable stretch. If this is a road maintained primarily for logging operations, I expect it gets restored when necessary for logging.

Like Caribou Valley Road and others, the condition is subject to the powers of nature and the draw of trees. Adds to the whimsical adventures of hiking. Hope this never changes ... highly preferable over the expectation of reliable conditions and the inevitable "closed to the public" sign.

DMOutdoors said:

Here is a picture showing the stakes from Saturday.

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For what it's worth, shown below is a snapshot taken on October 1st. It appears that there were stakes in place at that time as well.

The stakes were probably put in place for the initial survey to figure out the best course of action. I have surveyed projects (non-FS) that were built within a week, some were built years later. There is one private land owner past the washout, but it's not a full time residence. Hopefully the road will be fixed before snowmobile season, as the road is a major part of a loop including Bartlett Village, which derives much of its winter income from snowmobiling.

Aha, well I wonder how many months until they get that equipment going then?