Riverbed excavations concern county

Acting county engineer Matt Leonhardt talked to the commissioners at the Aug. 6 meeting about residents taking material from riverbeds. One area is near the bridge on Road 16. The bridge crosses the Greybull River (south of Otto).
“Someone has gone in there and excavated some material out around the bridge. Not right up on the bridge, but near it,” said Leonhardt.
County engineer Willie Bridges has visited the location to do an inspection. While not a huge concern at this point as far as affecting the bridge, it will be monitored.
Commission Chair Bruce Jolley asked if it could be a case of someone getting pit run from the riverbed to build their home. Leonhardt confirmed it was. He said a similar situation occurred south of Burlington. However, it was not close enough to a bridge to warrant structure concerns.