Reception to celebrate Freya bridge

The new Freya Street Bridge is scheduled to reopen on May 28, so the contractor and city officials are celebrating the occasion with an opening reception on Thursday at 4 p.m.

A band, food and dignitaries will be part of the free public event on the south end of the new concrete span that crosses BNSF Railway lines between Sprague and Trent avenues.

Work on the $7 million bridge began last August, forcing drivers to detour either west or east of the important north-south arterial connector.

Part of Thursday’s reception will acknowledge the work of artist Roger Ralston, who installed three banner-like sculptural forms, each approximately 10 feet tall and 7 feet wide, according to Karen Mobley, arts director.

“It’s colorful. It’s playful. It’s energetic,” she said of the artwork.

Ralston’s other pieces of public art can be seen across the Inland Northwest, including the new “Liberty Wings” at the Liberty Park aquatic facility in Spokane.

The bridge project was funded in part by the state’s freight mobility board to improve shipping traffic across the state.

It is the last of five projects over the past six years that have rebuilt the Freya Street corridor through east Spokane.

The roadway deck is resting on pre-tensioned, pre-cast girders built nearby by Central Pre-Mix Prestress Co. of Spokane.

Parking for Thursday’s event can be found on adjacent streets near the bridge as well as an unpaved lot on the southwest side of the bridge accessed from Springfield Avenue, Mobley said.

The general contractor on the job, Garco Construction of Spokane, and the Inland Northwest Associated General Contractors of America are co-sponsoring the event.