Monroe bridge work has year left

Just a little bit more off the sides.

That’s what work crews will be removing from the Monroe Street Bridge in the coming weeks.

The $20 million reconstruction project has passed the halfway mark, and is now about a year from completion. Work began in January 2003.

Crews are currently demolishing and rebuilding the north and south sections. Construction above the central arch is almost complete, allowing simultaneous work on the smaller arches on either side and a boost to 31 workers.

The contractor recently picked up the work pace to keep construction on schedule, said construction project manager Tom Garner.

“They wanted to start catching up on some things where they felt they were falling a little behind,” Garner said.

Two shifts of workers are now on the site, bringing the total time on site to 18 hours most days of the week, he added.

So far about $350,000 worth of change orders for additional work have been approved by the city, but that number will soon be increasing, said Spokane senior engineer Jerry Sinclair.

“We had a surprise here a couple of weeks ago. The piers on the north end, we had to demolish a little more of that than we had anticipated. We found that they weren’t structurally sound,” Sinclair said.

That means about 10 feet on the top of each pier will have to be rebuilt at a cost running in the tens of thousands of dollars, Garner said.

One positive element of the project is that other than a few smashed fingers, the work site has been accident-free.

The public will soon be able to get a lot closer to the action.

Work on the Thornton Murphy Park overlook is almost done, and it will provide a unique vantage point on the north side of the bridge.

The removal of a couple of trees has also opened up views of the Spokane River falls.