Narrows Bridge will be under budget

TACOMA – The final price for the new Narrows Bridge is going to come in under budget by about $114 million.

But lower tolls won’t be following.

In 2002, the state estimated the cost of the new span to be $849 million. But as state Department of Transportation officials begin the final stages of the project, they expect the final cost to be about $735 million.

“The project team was very conscious of the budget and did everything to keep the cost down and not dip into the contingency fund unless they needed to,” said Lloyd Brown, spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.

The biggest reason costs are lower than expected: The state didn’t run into as many emergencies as officials planned when creating the 2002 budget. The DOT also staged borrowing to pay for construction when money was needed, Brown said.

Transportation officials were authorized by the Legislature to borrow as much as $800 million for the project but will have borrowed only $691 million when it is complete.

Bridge project manager Ron Landon said the total payment to Tacoma Narrows Constructors, the bridge builder, is expected to be $628 million for design and construction. That’s $13 million more than the $615 million contract that was signed in June 2002 because the final cost includes changes approved by the state.

The overall $735 million cost for the project includes the toll system design and installation; construction management and oversight by the DOT; pre-2002 design costs; and “capitalized interest” accrued on the money borrowed during the 4 1/2 -year construction period before tolls were collected and payments made.

The way the loans were structured also saved the state about $70 million, Brown said. DOT also needed only $30 million of the $55 million set aside in an emergency fund.

Despite the lower costs, transportation officials have no plans to lower the tolls for crossing the span. The basic toll is scheduled to rise from $3 to $4 in the middle of 2009. It will increase to $5 in mid-2012 and to $6 in mid-2015.

Meanwhile, the entire project is nearing completion. Landon said he expects the concrete barrier on the old bridge to be removed by the end of the month, which will open the old bridge to four lanes of traffic, the same as the four lanes on the new bridge.

“That’s the next big milestone,” he said. “And that would constitute substantial completion. There are a couple issues left. We’ve got a problem with one of the elevators, and the pavement isn’t as smooth as it’s supposed to be. But those will be wrapped up no later than April.”