GOLD BAR — The county and Washington State Department of Transportation have enough funding to replace a 30-foot-long bridge located outside the town.
The DOT is receiving $130 million in federal money to replace, rehabilitate and repair 70 bridges in the state. One of them is the May Creek Road bridge, which is receiving $2.4 million to pay for removing the old bridge and building a new one.
The stream is eroding the foundation of the current bridge and may make it dangerous to cross after severe flooding, county bridge engineer Darrell Ash said.
“We have 200 bridges in Snohomish County,” Ash said. “The county is responsible for them to be safe. … This one has the highest risk of failure for flooding.”
The total project cost is $3 million. The rest is being paid for from the county’s road fund. The project will be managed by Snohomish County and the DOT will oversee it.
The county plans to start construction in 2016. The new concrete bridge will be two lanes wide and about 120 feet long. Meanwhile, it will get the necessary environmental permits, Ash said.
The old bridge is safe for public transportation. It’s been reduced to one lane so traffic travels through the strongest part of the bridge, he said. About 300 cars use the bridge every day.
The May Creek Bridge’s condition has been rated “poor” by the DOT, said Aaron Butters, the engineering services manager for the WSDOT.
Alejandro Dominguez: 425-339-3422; adominguez@heraldnet.com.
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