WALLA WALLA, Wash. — The Burnt Cabin Trail bridge in Umatilla County is one of 29 projects that will benefit from a U.S. Forest Service grant.

About $40 million will go to national forests in Oregon and Washington, under the Great American Outdoors Act, to address critical deferred maintenance issues and improve transportation and recreation infrastructure, said Darcy Weseman, spokesperson with the Umatilla National Forest.

The projects will provide more safety and better access for park visitors, she said.

The Burnt Cabin Trail Bridge is in the Walla Walla Ranger District. The 17-mile trail begins approximately 6 miles outside of Milton-Freewater, up the South Fork Walla Walla Trail. It provides access to hunting, fishing, camping and backpacking, and is used by hikers, horseback riders, mountain bikers and motorcyclists.

The bridge to get to the trail was built about 25 years ago with native log stringers that have deteriorated, Weseman said.

Concerns with the structure’s stability forced officials to close access across the bridge in 2017. The spring floods of 2020 damaged the bridge even more and it was removed.

With the new funding, the bridge will be replaced this year to meet the original design specifications, restoring access to the popular trail, she said.

The funding is part of a $285 million investment on national forests made possible by the newly created National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund, established in 2020 by the Great American Outdoors Act.

Nationally, the act will allow the Forest Service to implement more than 500 infrastructure improvement projects essential to the continued use and essential to the continued use and enjoyment of national forests lands this year, Weseman said.