View the Future is happy to announce that the Amanda Trail Suspension Bridge Project is moving forward with construction beginning October 1, 2021, the day following the end of Marble Murrelet and Spotted Owl nesting seasons. The bridge will connect the Amanda Trail crossing the Amanda Creek, above the Amanda Gathering Area located at the south end of the Kittel property.
The new suspension bridge will be constructed by Cascade Civil Corps, a Redmond Oregon company experienced in building infrastructure while preserving and protecting wild places. Bridge completion is expected by February 28, 2022, affording time to have the site replanted with native plants, and to have new seating built at the Amanda Gathering Area for the formal dedication scheduled for May 21st, 2022.
Planning for the bridge dedication is in full swing in partnership with the City of Yachats, Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, Oregon Coast Visitor’s Association, View the Future, Polly Plumb Productions and others including the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians, Yachats Presbyterian Church, Yachats Ladies Club, Yachats Chamber of Commerce, Yachats Visitors Center, and more are being invited to join this most important community event. The theme for the dedication is “Bridging Cultures & Healing Hearts.”
This bridge project has been a 6-year endeavor so far, with hundreds of hours of planning, engineering, and strategizing. Construction was planned to start last year, but then COVID hit. Oregon Parks & Recreation Department (OPRD) like so many others were devastated with massive layoffs necessitating the bridge plans being tabled, but only for 5 weeks. The project was resurrected because the Coastal Region Manager of OPRD stated it was one of their most important projects and directed his agency to find a way to do it. With a skeleton staff, they did just that with the support of View the Future’s fundraising, the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians, Lincoln County’s Land Legacy Program, Discover Your Northwest and its Perpetua Foundation, a nonprofit working with the Siuslaw National Forest and our ever-stalwart Yachats Trails crew. FEMA hung in with their funding too. Over fifty individuals donated funds to the bridge construction. We are eternally grateful for the trust and confidence that these sources had in our seeing this project through.
When Construction begins, periods of closure of the Amanda Trail will be required. The schedule of trail closure currently planned is:
- The section south of the Amanda Statue will be closed between October 1, 2021- possibly as long as February 28th, 2022. No trail detour is available.
- The trail on the north side of the Amanda statue will have intermittent closures during this same period. When that occurs notices will be sent out via City of Yachats and their Trails Committee, Visitor Center, Chamber, and local Facebook pages.
- Orange construction fencing will be erected in the immediate construction area.All public is excluded from the construction area for everyone’s safety and for statutory reasons.
- The end of the Kittel driveway at times will not be available for trail visitors due to the need for construction vehicle parking.
- View the Future will periodically post photos of the construction process for the public to enjoy.
