MARYSVILLE – The countdown on the removal of the old swing bridge over Ebey Slough has begun.
This June, work is expected to begin on a new, $47 million fixed-span bridge to the east of the current one on Highway 529.
When the new bridge is done in three years, people driving over Ebey Slough won’t ever have to wait for a bridge to open to let boats through, and they’ll be driving on a bridge four lanes wide instead of two.
The current, swing-span bridge, built in 1925, is the fourth-oldest bridge in the state highway system, state transportation officials said.It does not meet modern standards for earthquake safety and would be much more expensive to retrofit than building a new bridge, officials said at a press event in Marysville today.
Because the new bridge will be built next to the current one, traffic will not be disrupted during construction. When the new bridge is done the road will be realigned to meet it, officials said. Most of the property involved will be a city of Marysville-owned parcel on the north side of the slough formerly occupied by a mill, and no businesses will have to move.
State officials today announced the beginning of the roadwork season in the Puget Sound area, with the bridge among 14 projects planned to begin or be done in Snohomish County this year.
Other major projects include a $59.5 million ramp to separate merging traffic at I-5, I-405 and Highway 525, and continued work on the $18.9 million installation of concrete barriers in the median of northbound I-5 in Marysville and Arlington.
For more information go to www.wsdot.wa.gov, and click on “Projects.”
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