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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Valley to celebrate beginning of Sullivan Bridge project

The long-awaited construction of a new west Sullivan Road Bridge over the Spokane River will get a celebratory kickoff next week at Sullivan Park.

Spokane Valley Mayor Dean Grafos and other officials are inviting the public to join them for the launch of the $15 million project.

The event will be at 3:30 p.m. Thursday at the newly expanded park, which was included as part of the bridge replacement. Short speeches and free refreshments will be the mainstays of the kickoff.

Those who want to attend are asked to RSVP to Cally King at (509) 720-5113 or by email at cking@spokanevalley.org.

In July, the Spokane Valley City Council chose Max J. Kuney Co., of Spokane, for a $12.3 million construction contract. The other bidders were Garco Construction, West Company Inc. and Apollo Inc.

The bid award came after an initial round of bidding was thrown out due to a clerical error.

The bridge dates back to 1951, the older of the two spans that cross the river on Sullivan Road. An inspection in 2009 found the bridge to be structurally deficient.

Weight restrictions were imposed in 2011, but that disrupted the industrial truck traffic that used the bridge for access between the business area north of the river and Interstate 90 to the south.

The Sullivan crossing serves the Spokane Business & Industrial Park, rail connections, Inland Asphalt, a solid waste transfer station, a fire station and Central Pre-Mix Concrete Co. The corridor holds an estimated 4,500 jobs.

As a result, the City Council approved temporary repairs in 2012 to reopen the bridge to big trucks.

The new bridge is being financed through an $8 million federal bridge replacement grant. It is being combined with $3.5 million in state transportation improvement funds; $2.3 million from Spokane Valley city funds; $1.5 million from the state’s mobility investment program; and $316,000 from private utilities that need to be moved off the old span.

The new span will be wider than the current southbound bridge, with two through lanes, two turn lanes and a bicycle-pedestrian lane.

A new arterial road system from Bigelow Gulch Road to Trent Avenue at the Sullivan Road traffic overpass will bring an increase in traffic on the bridges once that road project is finished, officials said.

Sullivan Park improvements include an expansion of park grounds and a new picnic shelter.

The contractor got the go-ahead to start work on Monday and has been staging for construction.

Initially, the northbound bridge will undergo modifications to get ready for using the upstream span for both northbound and southbound traffic during demolition and construction.

Utility relocations also will have to be completed prior to demolition. The work schedule was not available.

“We do not have traffic impacts for next week,” said Carolbelle Branch, city spokeswoman.

Completion is expected in 2016.

A report on the bridge on the city’s website said, “While the bridge is not currently at risk of failure, annual inspections show signs of continued deterioration.”

“The deterioration is typical in bridges of this age, and includes cracking in the girders as well as deterioration of the driving surface. De-icing agents used over the years have also resulted in high chloride content in the bridge’s concrete, which can contribute to further deterioration,” the city said.