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Not many work sites are on a raging river in the shadow of Mount Rainier, but that鈥檚 the scene Cat Works LLC faced as it took on the project of removing damaged culverts and building two new cast-in-place concrete bridges on Deep Creek.

鈥淔or the first few days, boulders the size of small cars were rolling past the work areas,鈥� according to Cat Works.

But that was just one aspect of the treacherous job deep in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. Washed out culverts had cut off access to the popular recreation area, and the work had to be done quickly 鈥� in just three and a half months.

Cat Works removed the existing arch culverts, evacuated the eroded stream bed, installed driven piling, and built foundations and two complete bridges. The company also felled 100 large fir trees and placed them in the streambed to divert water flows and create fish habitat areas.

Cat Works collaborated with partner Cascade Bridge LLC of Vancouver, Wash., to install 97-foot girders in a very narrow work site that was more than a dozen miles into the wilderness. The companies also came up with a girder launching technique that saved existing trees at the bridge sites.

The job involved a lot more, such as creating some road base, restoring the streambed, creating log jams for bank stabilization, channel realignment and regrading, and other work on terraces and floodplains to prevent erosion and provide fish habitat. To accomplish these tasks, Cat Works worked closely with biologists from the Forest Service.

Michael Nieto, managing member of Cat Works, said the challenges were many, including an extremely remote location and the heaviest recorded stream flow in history.

鈥淕reat planning and stream diversion techniques allowed the project to be completed on time and within budget,鈥� Nieto said. 鈥淒ue to the remoteness, scheduling of materials and our subcontractors were tantamount in making this project a great success.鈥�