Air Force Academy Civil Engineering Cadets To Team Up With USFS On New Two Elk Trail Bridge

The US Forest Service issued the following press release on Friday about US Air Force Academy cadets teaming up with Forest Service workers to build a new bridge on the Two Elk Trail in Eagle County:

Through a unique partnership between the Air Force Academy and the White River National Forest, the Two Elk Trail will have a new bridge designed and built by some of the brightest young minds in the country.

Air Force Academy cadet civil engineering majors and forestry service personnel will work side-by-side for several weeks starting July 11 to install a bridge at the east end of the Two Elk Trail in Eagle County . The trail will remain open during most of construction, although temporary closures at the bridge site may at times be necessary to ensure the safety of the public and cadets.

As part of their university specialization program in civil engineering, last fall, 11 officer cadets were accepted into a popular elective course “Civil Engineering 376 – Forest Service Bridge Design” offered by the Academy and taught by Professor Stan Rader, where they have the creative opportunity to earn academic credit and spend time outdoors on public land to lead a project from concept to completion.

“Thanks to the invaluable cooperation and support of the personnel of the White River National Forest, this unique program enables our future engineers and Air Force leaders to lead a large-scale civil engineering project from cradle to grave, everything by offering the public a valuable infrastructure asset. that will be used for decades into the future, ”Rader said.

This class is the third cohort of Air Force Academy cadets to work on a White River National Forest project. In the fall of 2016, a previous class designed and installed a new bridge on the Maroon Creek Trail in the Maroon Bells Snowmass Wilderness, and in 2018, cadets built a bridge over the ever popular McCullough Gulch Trail south of Breckenridge. This year’s class has a different set of logistical and technical challenges to consider and navigate over the next few weeks to complete their design. The new Two Elk Trail bridge, with a span of 50 feet, will be 40 percent longer than the previous two bridges designed and built by cadets.

“This project offers unparalleled benefits in terms of the academic development of cadets as engineers and preparation to become leaders as Air Force officers working in an interagency environment and serving the public. This particular location was chosen because the existing bridge has slowly deteriorated while footfall is at an all time high. Our challenge this summer is to maintain maximum public access to this trail and the nearby busy Vail Pass bike path while ensuring safe recreation. We will work closely with district staff to make this happen. We are proud of this partnership and want to share it with the community, so getting people to cycle and walk is a good thing, ”said Greg Rosenmerkel, Engineering, Minerals and Fleet Manager for the forest. White River National.

The partnership made this project possible. Cadets will remain in Vail during project implementation thanks to a grant from the Academy Research and Development Institute (ARDI Foundation), headquartered in Colorado Springs.