The old ford over Estill Fork Creek. Photo was taken in just before the new bridge project got underway in 2013.
JACKSON COUNTY – Back ‘in-the-day’ things were done differently. You need a bridge over a little creek… simple. Throw some rock and sand and concrete over a narrow spot, put in a few culvert pipes, and voila… You have a bridge.!
Today it’s not that simple. The level of awareness of proper environmental stewardship dictates that the days are over for this type of ‘shoot-from-the-hip’ construction. A recently completed bridge project in Northeastern Alabama is evidence of the way things have changed for the better. TVA collaborated with The Nature Conservancy; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Jackson County, Alabama; and other partners to implement an enhancement and protection project on Estill Fork Creek in the Paint Rock River watershed.
The new bridge over Estill Fork Creek allows fish and mussels to traverse the waterway easily. The bridge is also a big safety improvement for motorists.
They replaced an old rock-fill roadway over Estill Fork Creek with a new bridge. Estill Fork Creek is one of the highest quality headwater tributaries to the scenic and biologically significant Paint Rock River, which flows into Wheeler Reservoir on the Tennessee River. Paint Rock River is a hotspot for biodiversity. Historical surveys have recorded 98 fish and 59 freshwater mussel species, including 12 species of fish and mussels that are listed as endangered, threatened, or candidate species under the Endangered Species Act.
A baby turtle that is part of the healthy aquatic life that is helped by the bridge over Estill Fork Creek.
And now, those 157 species of critters can get back and forth without a struggle. It makes them happy. And happy critters make lots of babies. And that’s what it’s all about.
Here is more information from a TVA media release on the project:
“The Estill Fork Creek project focused on removing a barrier (a ford on County Road 140) which served as a low water crossing for cars, trucks, and school buses. The ford blocked the movement of fish and caused severe streambank erosion resulting in sedimentation and aquatic habitat degradation. A new bridge was constructed in its place to span the entire stream. The higher elevation bridge also provides a safer and more reliable travel route for the motoring public. Replacing the obstruction restored connectivity for stream dwelling animals, will decrease erosion and sedimentation, and enhances water quality.
Paul Freeman, aquatic ecologist,holding a gar that came from the Estill Fork, explains that this fish is just one of the aquatic habitat that is helped by the bridge
The collaborative efforts of federal and state agencies, private landowners, and non-governmental organizations in this watershed serve as an example of conservation at all levels to reach long-term water quality, habitat, and species benefits.
TVA’s collaborative work in the Paint Rock watershed is part of the agency’s Natural Resource Plan which includes the Aquatic Ecology Management Program. That program focuses on protection of aquatic biodiversity by identifying and actively protecting exceptionally diverse aquatic biological communities, such as those found in the Paint Rock River-Estill Fork Creek watersheds.”
The Paint Rock River is a 58.7-mile-long tributary of the Tennessee River in northern Alabama. It is formed in northeastern Jackson County by the confluence of Estill Fork and Hurricane Creeks and drains a portion of south-central Tennessee.
