Project news - April 30, 2019

The RR Bridge Deck project is now complete.  The flaggers, signs and detour are gone and none are planned in the future.  During the closure, crews removed guardrail, then rebuilt the highway bridge approaches with asphalt and replaced the guardrail, which also allowed completion of permanent drainage facilities. Crews then installed curbing, centerline rumble strips, flexible guidepost and permanent striping and signing. 

WSDOT is grateful for the support and understanding from parents and students and their patience over the two months of closure and detour last winter and ask for your pardon once again.  We are also grateful for the difficult work accomplished by our contractor, N.A. Degerstrom and BNSF.

SR 26 is a primary route from western Washington to Washington State University in Pullman. The average traffic count is just under 2,000 vehicles a day, but that number can double on WSU event weekends. Last year's closure impacted Cougar home football game, special event and holiday traffic. 

Overview

This 154 foot long pre-stressed concrete girder bridge constructed in 1957 in southern Adams County had a bridge deck that was deteriorating at a rapid rate requiring continuous maintenance. Its already scheduled replacement next spring was advanced from 2019 to this fall as our Bridge office technicians recommended against allowing the structure to endure another winter.  The bridge deck replacement began Oct. 15 and was expected to close SR 26 for six weeks, requiring the detour.  It took eight.  When the bridge opened for traffic in December, it was too cold to install proper asphalt bridge approaches and that work was scheduled April 22 and all finish work was completed April 29.

Needs & benefits

The immediate need was to replace the bridge deck before it deteriorated further making it unsafe to use the bridge at all.  A new bridge deck constructed to current standards now provides a safer structure for both commuters and commercial vehicles on the bridge and protects the high volume tracks for the train traffic below.

Timeline

The project was advertised for private contractor bids on April 23, 2018. Contract #9275 was awarded on May 29 to N.A. Degerstrom, Inc. for $1,086,510.00.

Funding

Financial Data for PIN 202600S
Funding Source Amount ($ in thousands)

• Pre-Existing Funds (PEF) - $1,195
• Total - $1,195