The Foothills National Recreation Trail is a heavily trafficked multi-modal trail running for 24 miles on a historic railroad bed southeast of Tacoma in Pierce County, Washington. Offering scenic views of Mount Rainier, the Carbon River and surrounding farmland, the accessible paved path is mostly flat, making it popular with recreational hikers and cyclists, as well as equestrians and commuters.

In November 2023, an inspection of the old timber bridge that carried the trail over Spiketon Ditch near the town of South Prairie found significant structural deficiencies and was closed immediately. The closure disrupted full-route access of the trail, prompting the need for a more robust, durable, and long-term solution.

The relatively remote construction area, site constraints, and environmental permitting requirements restricted the range of feasible construction methods. AHBL, the design engineer on the project, was engaged to evaluate options, and a modular steel bridge system from Acrow was ultimately selected as the most suitable replacement solution.

The permanent Acrow bridge was sold to Pierce County Parks Department and delivered to Ceccanti, Inc., the project contractor, for assembly and installation. The new bridge measures 160 feet (48.77m) in length and 12 feet (3.67m) in width. Designed to meet AASHTO HS15 loading requirements, it features an asphalt overlay deck fitted with camber panels and Acrow handrails. Once rolled into position using a cantilever launch method, the bridge opened to the public in September 2025, restoring accessibility to the full length of the 24-mile trail.

Acrow’s high-quality prefabricated modular steel bridges are particularly well suited to recreational trail projects. Easily transported to the most challenging locations, they are rapidly installed with minimal equipment and hot-dip galvanized for superior corrosion protection, requiring only minimal maintenance over a service life of 100 years or more. Acrow’s innovative bridge systems make ideal solutions for the most challenging active travel schemes.