Lincoln Bridge Unveiled New Span Will Revolutionize Downtown, City Officials Say

The city of Spokane released artist’s drawings this week of the Lincoln Street bridge, signaling the start of a project that officials say will revolutionize downtown.

“We’re well on our way to getting to crank up the project and finish it,” said Phil Williams, city director of planning and engineering services.

The arched, futuristic-looking bridge has an “elegant, slender” style, said project manager Jim Correll of CH2M Hill Northwest, the engineering firm hired by the city to design the bridge.

“The real legacy of the Lincoln Street bridge project is the river and the gorge and the setting, and all the wonderful architecture around it,” Correll said.

“That led us to conclude: We can’t make an invisible bridge … But, we wanted to make it as subtle and transparent as we could.”

While bridge design moves ahead, the city still is negotiating with Happy Guest International to buy the former Salty’s at the Falls restaurant site for the project.

Officials from Clinkerdagger Restaurant, which planned to move into the Salty’s building before learning of the city’s plans, met with city officials last week to talk about the restaurant’s options.

So far, no agreement has been reached, said Attila Szabo, Clinkerdagger manager. “It’s very frustrating for us.”

City officials say the $28 million bridge project will dramatically change downtown, making way for more green space, changing traffic patterns and boosting revitalization efforts, including redevelopment of the River Park Square shopping center.

Plans call for the four-lane, one-way bridge to align with Lincoln Street, carrying northbound traffic from downtown to Sharp Avenue. Eventually, the Monroe Street bridge will be one-way southbound.

A pedestrian bridge will replace the Post Street bridge, taking the Centennial Trail across the Spokane River. Main Street will be redesigned to streamline traffic around the downtown library.

Post Street running north from Spokane Falls Boulevard will be turned into a dead-end street, connecting people to parking lots at City Hall and the YMCA.

Last September, the city signed a $3.2 million contract with CH2M Hill to design the bridge. CH2M Hill then hired Jean Muller International of Paris as a consultant.

The architectural firm “is the foremost bridge designer in the world,” said CH2M Hill’s Correll.

Engineers will consider both concrete and steel structures, but city officials favor concrete. Maintaining a steel bridge is very expensive, Williams said.

The arch will span 460 feet across the river, with the bridge spanning 800 feet from start to finish, Correll said. The bridge’s lowest level will hang 80 feet above one of the river’s two cascading falls in downtown Spokane.

“The high profile basically assures good views of the falls,” Correll said. “It doesn’t impact the upper spillway at all. The only way it impacts it is if you’re in a plane looking down.”

Concerns about how the bridge would affect river views and the environment caused numerous delays in the project that was first discussed in the mid-1980s. The city held dozens of meetings with residents. Officials also did a series of surveys that ultimately led to engineers choosing the arch design, Correll said.

Attorney Steve Eugster sued the city in 1994 to stop the project over potential environmental impacts.

The city and Eugster called a truce last year, with the city agreeing to make improvements to enhance the river gorge area. They include establishing open spaces and parks, creating public views and recreational spots, and expanding Riverfront Park west from City Hall.

Assurances the bridge won’t harm river views or the surrounding envi- ronment don’t comfort Bill Youngs, a history professor at Eastern Washington University. His book, “The Fair and the Falls,” which traces the history of Spokane’s Expo ‘74 and the river’s makeover, is about to be published.

The river was obscured by railroad trestles and warehouses before Expo ‘74, said Youngs.

“The World’s Fair was an occasion to change all that, to restore some of the beauty of the falls,” he said. The new bridge will destroy one of the city’s “most beautiful sights, from Post Street looking down to Monroe.”

Planning services director Williams countered that need for the bridge is dire. The Post Street bridge is crumbling, and the Lincoln-Monroe couplet will ease air-quality concerns, he said.

Nearly $20 million in federal money will go toward the project, with city and state dollars making up the balance, Williams said.

Final design work should be completed by spring 1998, with construction set to start that summer and end in the year 2000.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Drawing Graphic with map: Lincoln Street bridge project