EVERETT — The elevator at the Grand Avenue Park Bridge in Everett will be out of service for over a month.
The elevator’s doors were damaged due to vandalism, city spokesperson Simone Tarver said in an email. An initial repair, set to be completed by December, will put temporary doors in place to make the elevator functional again. The permanent replacement of the doors will take longer, Tarver said, because of the time to acquire parts and make the repair. The city expects to complete the permanent repair by next Feburary.
The city estimates the cost of the temporary repair will be in the thousands, and the permanent repair will cost tens of thousands of dollars.
“We are carefully balancing the desire to get the repair done quickly with also needing to keep costs down,” Tarver said.
The park and the bridge remain open. A pedestrian overpass on 25th Street is the closest spot for those needing an accessible crossing across West Marine View Drive.
The $20 million pedestrian bridge opened to the public in 2020, passing over the BNSF Railway and West Marine View Drive. It connects northwest Everett to the city’s waterfront.
The elevator has been closed due to damage in the past. In May, a fire extinguisher was set off inside, damaging the cables and brakes. That closure lasted a week, costing the city about $5,500. In 2020, just weeks after the elevator opened, the elevator door was knocked out of its track, costing the city an estimated $1,500 and closing the elevator for a few days.
Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.
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