The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is gearing up to start construction in spring 2013 on a new bridge located on Old Fairhaven Parkway west of 20th Street.
The bridge is the first construction step in the Padden Creek Daylighting project, which involves re-routing approximately 2,300 feet of the creek into a natural stream bed. That section of the creek passes underneath Old Fairhaven Parkway in a brick tunnel stretching from 16th Street to 22nd Street that was built in 1892 in anticipation of the ending of the Great Northern Railroad, according to Wendy Scherrer, a resident of Happy Valley and a member of its neighborhood association. Scherrer said she has worked on the restoration of Padden Creek since 1985.
“The tunnel doesn’t function well anymore,” Scherrer said. The removal of the creek from the tunnel will help stimulate fish passage and reduce flooding in Happy Valley. Once the creek is daylighted, the creek restoration will include cleaning up the water and reducing bank erosion by planting vegetation along its corridors, according to the Happy Valley neighborhood plan. Steep slopes in the northwest and southwest corners of the neighborhood lead to flood plains between 16th Street and 22nd Street. Once the bridge is built, the tunnel will remain as a stormwater wet vault and an overflow bypass to ease flooding in those areas, according to the City of Bellingham.
The main concern for residents is the inconvenience of construction around this project. Richard Sullivan has lived in Happy Valley since 1978, and his home on 22nd Street is no more than 100 feet from the opening of the tunnel.
“I’m going to have to find a new place to park,” Sullivan said, noting that traffic diversions and road closures will be a major problem.
Once construction starts this spring, the plan is to re-route traffic around the building site and temporarily close one block from Old Fairhaven Parkway north on 20th Street, according to Craig Mueller, Project Engineer for the City of Bellingham. Approximately six months later, Mueller will lead the daylighting phase of the project as the WSDOT permanently closes that one block in order for the stream to run through it and under the new bridge. Construction should be finished by the beginning of summer 2014, and the restoration of the creek should take another two years, Mueller said.
Funds for the project include $1.44 million from a state-revolving loan, $500,000 from a state grant and $700,000 in allocated city funds, Mueller said. The total amount of $2.64 million contributes to the cost of construction engineering, project bid award and sales tax, according to the WSDOT.
“After construction the bridge will be on the same alignment and be the same width as the current highway. Probably most drivers will not even notice a difference when we are done,” said Chris Damitio, Project Engineer for the WSDOT. Damitio said that traffic obstructions will be minimal and the department will try to maintain two-way traffic for most of the construction.
“Overall I think the local residents are fairly supportive, as there is a strong consensus [for] the restoration of Padden Creek,” Damitio said, “and they are willing to deal with the inconveniences, as they recognize the long-term benefits being provided.”
“We’re friendly to all critters,” said Sullivan, explaining how the environmental benefits to the project outweigh the inconvenience of construction for the neighborhood.
“We are doing everything possible to impact this to the least [number] possible while getting this bridge done as quickly and efficiently as possible,” Damitio said.
No comments:
Post a Comment