In February 1996, a land slide destroyed bridge 31.3 on the Museum's Snoqualmie Valley Railroad.  Over 2,000 yards of mud and debris pushed the timber trestle over a cliff and down over 300 feet to the valley below. 

In August 1998, work began to replace this missing structure with a new bridge.  A large excavator removed the mud and the few remaining pieces of the old trestle.  The remoteness and tight working space made this work slow and tedious. 

The first part of the construction process involved the creation of footings to support the new structure.  The rock was excavated until it was perfectly flat and holes were drilled to allow insertion of thick steel rods or dowels.  These considerations will help prevent the new bridge from moving during any future land slide. 

This "footing" area was surrounded with form work to hold concrete in place until it set.