The Stakes Part 2

The next major physical hurdle appeared at Kilometer 67: the River Elmont.

The reconnaissance team had identified it as the first major bridge structure on the northern trunk line. From the riverbank, the channel appeared deceptively manageable—approximately seventy meters wide from shore to shore during normal summer flow, moving lazily beneath willow trees.

Samuel knew better than to trust summer water levels. He walked up to an ancient oak tree near the bank, pointing to a dark, weathered water stain on the trunk nearly twelve feet above his head. Trapped debris remained wedged high in the lower branches.

"Historical high-water mark," Samuel told Thomas. "The river we are looking at today is not the river the bridge piers must survive in November."

He turned to the bridge engineering team. "Survey the entire floodplain. Run cross-sections every fifty meters, measure current velocity, and begin core borings for the pier foundations."