Government Projects: Federal & Other

• Construction and Design/Build
• Engineering Design Only
• Other Projects

Hydra Engineering is design firm and contractor for the Equestrian Bridges located in the Talladega National Forest in Alabama. The project includes the construction of a two single span wood equestrian bridges and associated approaches. The bridges have spans of 28' and 20' and have been placed to have no impact on wetlands or waters of the United States.


The project is funded through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act. Hydra prepared all the reporting as required by the ARRA.

The longer of the two bridges has been designed using a glue laminate beam and the shorter one utilizes dimensional lumber for the beam. The bridges have been designed to carry 5 tons allowing the bridges to also be utilized for emergency recovery equipment if the need should arise.





Hydra Engineering designed the new Advanced Treatment Unit for the historic Sweetwater Cabin and then was selected to install the new system. The cabin is located next to one of the many crystal clear springs in this area of the National Forest and the Ranger wanted to protect the Spring from potential pollution by the septic system.


The new ATU installed was a Norweco TNT system and reduces nitrogen and other contaminants by nearly 75% over simple septic systems.

The project had to completed on a strict timetable to minimize downtime of the cabin during the rental season. The site also had to be approved by the local Native American Tribes prior to any work being completed. The project was completed on time and on budget.

Although a small project, this project reflects Hydra’s capability to work around historic structures and environmentally sensitive sites.





Hydra Engineering has been contracted to complete maintenance on 16 Bridges in the Western part of the Apalachicola National Forest.

Work completed on all bridges including removing vegetation from around the abutments and wingwalls, removal of debris from the bridge decks, re-sealing existing expansion joints, installing lime rock at the approaches to the bridges, repairing any spawling and replacing any missing hardware.


The project was funded through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act. Hydra prepared all the reporting as required by the ARRA.

All four wingwalls on four of the bridges were removed and new pilings and sheeting boards were installed. Another bridge had a single wingwall replaced with new pilings and sheeting boards and rotten sheeting boards were removed and replaced in several other locations. Approach guardrail was placed on both approaches on 4 bridges and bag rip rap was replaced as needed on several of the bridges.





Hydra Engineering was contracted to install a new vault restroom at the Lake Eaton Trailhead as well as install a handicap parkings space, sidewalk and make some drainage improvements to the parking lot entrance.


The new vault restroom was ordered from CXT with the specifications set by the Forest Service. The restroom had both men and ladies rooms and a solar fan system.

Sidewalks were constructed to the restroom from the new concrete handicap parking space. A culvert was added at the entrance to alleviate erosion issues, and grading was completed to repair erosion areas.





Hydra Engineering was contracted to design and construct 17 fiberglass pedestrian bridges located throughout the Chattahoochee National Recreation Area. The majority of these bridges were damaged by a historic flood on the Chattahoochee River in 2009 and need to be replaced to facilitate use of the park. Several of the bridges were completely destroyed by the flood. The project also included the design and re-construction of several hundred feet of wood boardwalk that was also damaged by the flood.


The flooding also caused extreme erosion at one boat ramp and slope stabilization was required to prevent possible damage to the boat ramp. Landscape areas in several parking areas were graded to remove silt left by the retreating flood waters and new grass was planted. A large picnic area was also regraded to remove silt and mulch was added to make the area for user friendly.





Hydra Engineering has been contracted to demolish the existing boat ramps at the Flamingo Bay Marina and replace them with new concrete ramps. The ramps will be constructed using a push slab approach. The part of the ramp that will be underwater is cast above the MHW and is allowed to cure and then pushed using large construction equipment into place. This ramp is then tied mechanically to the cast in place portion of the ramp. There are two identical ramps on the project.


The project is on a very tight timetable and is located in an environmentally senstive area. The project both endangered manatees and American crocodiles onsite.

The project is currently under construction with an anticipated completetion date of mid-January 2011.





Hydra has been contracted to Design and Construct new tide gates for the Waupoppin, New Holland and Lake Landing control gates. The purpose of the design is to develop a side opening tide gate that would allow aquatic species to easily move between the Lake and the Sound throughout the water column. The traditional flood gates located at these structures open only at the bottom and inhibit or restrict some species from moving from the Lake to the Sound or visa-versa.

The gates will be constructed of both aluminum and stainless steel with stainless steel only being used in areas of high stress.

This project is currently in the late stages of design with construction anticipated to be start in Mid February and completed by the end of Spring 2011.