Downtown searches for bridge answer

Fall timetable not good news for merchants

MICHAEL BURNHAM, THE OLYMPIAN

OLYMPIA -- Construction of a temporary bridge as well as a new Fourth Avenue bridge isn't likely until fall.

And that has downtown business owners reeling.

Permits for construction of a temporary trestle and the permanent bridge may not be completed until the end of May or later.

The Nisqually Earthquake crippled Deschutes Parkway and knocked out use of the Fourth Avenue bridge, although city officials haven't give up hope that it can be used temporarily.

The Fifth Avenue bridge's two traffic lanes must now handle the estimated 42,000 daily vehicle trips that used to pack six lanes.

And that's unsettling for many.

"I want a temporary bridge sooner," said Connie Lorenz, Olympia Downtown Association coordinator. "I would hope that if this is what we're faced with, whatever pressure we can bring to bear ... to expedite this process -- we do it now."

City officials asked agencies responsible for the permits to give them a break Monday, but the agencies would only meet the city halfway.

At the request of the City Council, City Engineer Tom Frare urged the National Marine Fisheries Service, Army Corps of Engineers and other agencies with environmental permit power to allow immediate construction of a temporary bridge between the Fourth and Fifth avenue bridges.

Although a temporary bridge was planned as part of the original construction project to replace the Fourth Avenue bridge, early construction would be subject to a $250,000 contractor's premium and an emergency clause in the Endangered Species Act.

The permitting agencies declined the early bridge idea Monday at a closed-door meeting, saying that the emergency clause is not applicable because bridge damage does not present an imminent threat to life or property.

"If we'd have been able to begin construction now, the only thing we would have built would have been the temporary structure," said Frare, who added that the temporary bridge would take about eight weeks to finish and is included in the project's $33.7 million budget.

Instead, the agencies agreed to move the bridge permits to the top of their review lists.

If permits are fast-tracked, Frare said bidding for bridge construction could start June 1. Construction of the temporary bridge would have to wait until November, when salmon migrations along the Deschutes River present a five-month construction window.

"It doesn't help downtown's cause; that's for sure," Lorenz said. "The biggest impact this is going to have is on those businesses that are marginal to begin with."

Fix the old bridge?

The news of the temporary bridge's fate has revived interest in keeping the Fourth Avenue bridge on life support.

The City Council gave a lukewarm reception to the idea of opening one bridge lane of westbound traffic at its March 6 meeting.

The bridge's underbelly would be shored up with support beams, and the work could be completed within four weeks.

The quick construction would also come with an estimated $250,000 contractor's premium -- an extra monetary incentive to get the contractor to speed things along.

After Monday's news, the idea is getting a second look.

"There is still that possibility, and ... a (council) decision may occur later this week," said Mike Terrell, a project manager with Entranco, which is handling the bridge's environmental and transportation consulting. "It's definitely more likely now than it was."

That doesn't mean city officials have stopped trying.

City Manager Dick Cushing was in Washington, D.C., on Monday and Tuesday to seek help speeding up permitting and securing emergency bridge funding, Assistant City Manager Steve Hall said.

Cushing scheduled meetings with Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Joe Allbaugh and U.S. Rep. Brian Baird, D-Wash., as well as other Washington congressional delegation members. Baird serves Washington's 3rd District, which includes much of South Sound.

Cushing, Frare and Allbaugh will next discuss FEMA funding during a conference call Thursday, Hall added.

Quick solution?

Downtown business workers hope solutions come quickly.

Kerry McHugh, manager of downtown's Ken Schoenfeld Furniture, said she is wrestling with the idea of employee layoffs.

"They might be in order if we don't see traffic increasing," said McHugh, who is also ODA president.

"People may be coming in, but their anxiety and frustration levels are higher than they were through the LOTT process," she added.

While putting a sewer line through downtown, the wastewater agency took weeks longer than allowed in the contract.

McHugh suggested that citizens petition the permitting agencies to speed up the bridge permit and construction process.

"It wouldn't hurt for them to know there are real people behind this bureaucracy," she said.

The permitting agencies declined the early bridge idea Monday at a closed-door meeting, saying that the emergency clause is not applicable because bridge damage does not present an imminent threat to life or property.

"If we'd have been able to begin construction now, the only thing we would have built would have been the temporary structure," said Frare, who added that the temporary bridge would take about eight weeks to finish and is included in the project's $33.7 million budget.

Instead, the agencies agreed to move the bridge permits to the top oftheir review lists.

If permits are fast-tracked, Frare said bidding for bridge construction could start June 1. Construction of the temporary bridge would have to wait until November, when salmon migrations along the Deschutes River present a five-month construction window.

"It doesn't help downtown's cause; that's for sure," Lorenz said. "The biggest impact this is going to have is on those businesses that are marginal to begin with."

The news of the temporary bridge's fate has revived interest in keeping the Fourth Avenue bridge on life support.

The City Council gave a lukewarm reception to the idea of opening one bridge lane of westbound traffic at its March 6 meeting.

The bridge's underbelly would be shored up with support beams, and the work could be completed within four weeks.

The quick construction would also come with an estimated $250,000 contractor's premium -- an extra monetary incentive to get the contractor to speed things along.

After Monday's news, the idea is getting a second look.

"There is still that possibility, and ... a (council) decision may occur later this week,"said Mike Terrell, a project manager with Entranco, which is handling the bridge'senvironmental and transportation consulting. "It's definitely more likely now than it was."

That doesn't mean city officials have stopped trying.City Manager Dick Cushing was in Washington, D.C., on Monday and Tuesday to seek help speeding up permitting and securing emergency bridge funding, Assistant City Manager Steve Hall said.

Cushing scheduled meetings with Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Joe Allbaugh and U.S. Rep. Brian Baird, D-Wash., as well as other Washington congressional delegation members. Baird serves Washington's 3rd District, which includes much of South Sound.

Cushing, Frare and Allbaugh will next discuss FEMA funding during a conference call Thursday, Hall added.

Downtown business workers hope solutions come quickly.

Kerry McHugh, manager of downtown's Ken Schoenfeld Furniture, said she is wrestling with the idea of employee layoffs.

"They might be in order if we don't see traffic increasing," said McHugh, who is also ODA president.

"People may be coming in, but their anxiety and frustration levels are higher than they were through the LOTT process," she added.

While putting a sewer line through downtown, the wastewater agency took weeks longer than allowed in the contract.

McHugh suggested that citizens petition the permitting agencies to speed up the bridge permit and construction process.

"It wouldn't hurt for them to know there are real people behind this bureaucracy."

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

On our Site

Earthquake links

Earthquake stories archive

The Olympian Copyright 2001

back to main Earthquake Stories index