MEEKER | Through a unique partnership between the Air Force Academy and the White River National Forest, some of the brightest young minds in the country will design, plan, and build a new bridge on the Spring Cave Trail near Meeker this month.
Air Force Academy cadets and Forest Service personnel will work side-by-side for three weeks beginning July 17 to construct a bridge across the South Fork of the White River to improve the popular Spring Cave Trail on the Blanco Ranger District in Rio Blanco County.
As part of their academic program, more than 20 civil engineering majors interviewed to become one of 11 cadets accepted into a sequence of elective courses called: CE-376 Forest Service Bridge Design, CE-377 Forest Service Bridge Construction Planning, and CE-378 Forest Service Bridge Construction. The courses are taught by Dr. Brad Wambeke with to earn academic credit and spend time outside on public lands taking a project from design to completion.
“It is rare for undergraduate engineering students to take an actual full-scale construction project from initial design through construction to ribbon cutting,” said Dr. Wambeke. “The support provided by the U.S. Forest Service to allow our Air Force Academy cadets to experience such an opportunity is priceless. What they have learned through this year-long endeavor will yield fruit throughout their Air Force careers serving our nation.”
This class is the fourth cohort of Air Force Academy cadets to work on a White River National Forest project. In the summer 2016, the first class designed and built a new bridge in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness. The 2018 class built a bridge at McCullough Gulch south of Breckenridge. The 2021 class replaced the bridge on Two Elk Trail just west of Vail Pass. This year’s class has a different set of logistical challenges to consider and navigate over the next several weeks to bring their design to completion on the Spring Cave Trail.
“This project provides unmatched benefits in terms of the cadet’s academic development as engineers and preparation to be leaders as Air Force officers by working in an inter-agency environment and serving the public,” said Greg Rosenmerkel, former Engineering Staff Officer for the White River National Forest. “They have to think through things like material choices, how to get materials to the site, and how to build a bridge with little heavy equipment access. Each cadet has a specific job to do along the way such as logistics, safety, and public affairs. This particular location has an existing mid-stream abutment and will be over 60-feet long, the longest thus far. We’ll be working closely with the Forest Service to maintain maximum public access while ensuring safety.”
Partnerships have made this project possible. The cadets will be staying in local lodges thanks to a grant from the Academy Research and Development Institute (ARDI Foundation), and Rio Blanco County has been instrumental in helping with materials delivery.
Special to the Herald Times