Two pedestrian bridges on Piper Creek have been declared off limits because of heavy rains this week.
Steve Davison, City of Red Deer Parks amenities supervisor, said on Friday that supports for both bridges in the Rotary Park Hill area were closed early Friday following erosion from the creek.
The high creek levels and high velocity stream flows eroded the creek banks and damaged support abutments, he said.
One of the bridges, located south of Rotary Park Hill, has concrete abutments and appears to be structurally sound.
The abutments on the other bridge, located at 3400 Spruce Drive on the connector trail from Spruce Drive to Kin Kanyon, have been eroded to the point of failure, and the bridge has slumped into the creek.
“It’s just this one area that really got hammered hard by the rain,” Davison said.
“The erosion was fairly fast.
“We checked the bridges (Thursday) and they were fine but it eroded through the night on the west abutment of the (slumped) bridge.”
The bridges are closed until further notice.
City officials and Stantec Engineering staff were inspecting the structural integrity of the bridges on Friday afternoon.
Park users are advised to obey all barricades and signs at the bridge sites.
Davison said there appears to be no other major damage to recreation facilities or trails.
However, he said crews have been working steadily for the past three days cleaning up debris on trails, including fallen trees and tree limbs.
Davison also said trail users should be cautious since some gravel and shale paths have been flooded in a few places.
jwilson@www.reddeeradvocate.com