State Allocates $1.7 Million for Main Street Bridge

WAITSBURG – June ended on a high note for the City of Waitsburg when the Washington State Legislature appropriated $1.7 million to replace Waitsburg's Main Street Bridge. That funding was secured in the 2015-17 capital budget approved in Olympia on June 30.

City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe said he has been working to see the bridge replaced for three to four years and that the city has been working on it, off and on, for the better part of a decade.

In addition to being narrow, the 90-year-old bridge, located on the north end of Waitsburg's Main Street, is built in such a way that it creates a flood hazard, Hinchliffe said. The bottom side of the bridge is arched so that when high waters come, they hit the arch and back up, causing a choke point in the Touchet River.

Hinchliffe said bridges are categorized by the state as one of two types: functionally obsolete and structurally deficient. Only structurally deficient bridges are eligible for transportation funds. Waitsburg's bridge falls in the obsolete category and doesn't qualify.

In February, Hinchliffe testified before the Senate Ways & Means Committee in Olympia, in support of Public Works Trust Fund (PWTF) construction loans. The city applied for a $600,000 PWTF loan, and was working with the Corps of Engineers to fund the rest of the project.

When Governor Inslee's budget came through, only the top ten projects made the cut with the Main Street Bridge stripped from the budget.

Hinchliffe later contacted Senator Mike Hewitt who was able to bring funding through the Senate, as part of the capital budget. Hinchliffe also lobbied representatives Terry Nealey, Maureen Walsh, Norm Johnson and Susan Fagan for support from the House.

"They came together and the project got on both lists and got approved," he said.

Hinchliffe said the $1.7 million appropriation should be enough to fully fund the bridge replacement with some left for contingencies.

"I'm waiting on a letter from the state letting me know how to access the funds. Then we'll get an engineer on board and, if everything works out right, it should happen next year," Hinchliffe said.

In a press release, Sen. Hewitt said, "The Main Street Bridge has served for 90 years; unfortunately the choke point it creates in the Touchet River has turned the bridge into a flood hazard. There is strong competition for the limited dollars available for capital improvements, so I am glad about being able to put this project on the list."