Seventy city and county projects across the state will receive a portion of $130 million in federal funds to repair or replace aging bridges. The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) selected projects that will replace, remove and/or repair aging, obsolete and structurally deficient bridges. The funding comes from the Federal Highway Fund.
In Tacoma and Pierce County, the bridge projects include the following:
- Pierce County — $2.4 million to replace the North Fork Muck Creek Bridge;
- Puyallup — $10 million to replace the Puyallup River (Milwaukee) Bridge;
- Sumner — $9.6 million to replace the White River Bridge near Stuck River;
- Tacoma — $4 million to repair the Union Avenue Viaduct bridge deck;
- Tacoma — $1.88 million to repair the Schuster Parkway / Ruston Way bridge deck.
“Some of these bridges are beyond the point of repair and need to be replaced,” said Kathleen Davis, director of Highways and Local Programs with WSDOT. “Many of them, though, can be repaired, which will add many more years of operation to their lifespan.”
WSDOT and the Bridge Replacement Advisory Committee received and reviewed 87 applications. The committee is comprised of bridge and engineering professionals, with three members each from Washington cities and counties. The committee’s primary objective is to enhance traveler safety through replacement and rehabilitation of old, worn-out bridges owned by cities and counties.
