Council gives thumbs up to temporary bridge

Emergency ordinances speed quake recovery

MICHAEL BURNHAM, THE OLYMPIAN

OLYMPIA -- City officials will ask federal agencies to speed up the permit process for the Fourth Avenue bridge and allow them to build a temporary trestle.

Last week's 6.8 magnitude quake knocked out the use of Deschutes Parkway and the bridge, which handle more than 30,000 daily vehicle trips between downtown and the west side.

The City Council directed city engineer Tom Frare to ask state and federal agencies responsible for environmental permit approval to allow construction of a temporary bridge between the Fourth and Fifth Avenue bridges as soon as possible.

The temporary bridge trestle is included in the original bridge replacement plan. Its construction could take about eight weeks and cost the city a $250,000 premium if it comes out of sequence from the original plan.

Frare said construction of the temporary bridge hinges on approval of several agencies, including the National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

"Now is the time to ask them to expedite the permits," Councilwoman Jeanette Hawkins said.

"I am also in support of the trestle option," added Mayor Stan Biles. "For the price, $250,000, we get two lanes instead of one lane."

City, state and federal agencies involved in the permit process could meet as soon as today to discuss the temporary bridge, Frare said.

"There is no guarantee that permits will be expedited," Frare said.

Throughout the original planning process for construction of the Fourth Avenue bridge, city planners have been careful to plan construction around Deschutes River salmon migrations.

The migrations occur between Nov. 15 and March 15, so construction would need to begin soon.

"The city is in a real precarious position in that you can't go out and build it and then back up and say, 'Whoops,' " Frare said after Tuesday's council presentation.

It's not clear if the Fourth Avenue bridge will qualify for federal disaster aid, said Bill Lokey, Federal Emergency Management Agency coordinating officer for earthquake relief.

One of the questions that must be answered first is: Did the bridge fail due to lack of maintenance or due to the disaster, FEMA infrastructure team leader Jean Chaney said.

"FEMA money is not a panacea for bridge upgrades," she added.

Emergency ordinances

The council waived building code, engineering and land use review fees for quake damage repairs of up to $30,000.

"Our intention all along was to provide those with damage -- especially homeowners -- no fees for repair work due to the quake," said Department of Community Planning and Development Director Subir Mukerjee.

The council also waived the city's historic design review guidelines, which require rigid design criteria for buildings adjacent to buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, to expedite project review and permit procedures.

Emergency provisions also allow Mukerjee to issue and extend permits to stabilize, investigate, repair, restore, renovate, reconstruct and replace damaged structures with permanent or temporary facilities.

All ordinance provisions are valid for a period of 90 days from the quake.

As of Tuesday night, Mukerjee said city code officials had inspected 320 buildings.

The city submitted an official damage assessment of $64.2 million to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which administers disaster relief money, City Manager Dick Cushing said.

Damage to Deschutes Parkway is about $20 million, and damage to the Fourth Avenue bridge is about $40 million, Cushing added.

Michael Burnham covers Olympia for The Olympian. He can be reached at 704-6869.

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