Waitsburg Community Weighs in On Main Street Bridge Design

WAITSBURG – Anderson Perry & Associates engineer Eric Zitterkopf was on hand at a March 10 community meeting in Waitsburg to answer questions surrounding design plans for the Main Street Bridge that is scheduled to be replaced in the summer of 2017.

The meeting was initiated after the city council was asked to choose railing designs at their February meeting. Council members wanted to know why detailed design decisions are required so early in the process, and requested more time to seek public input.

Zitterkopf explained that, while the bridge itself isn’t a historic structure, it resides in Waitsburg’s downtown, which is a historic district. That means the Washington Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (DAHP) will have a say on what the bridge ultimately looks like, he said.

“Replacing the bridge is the easy part. It’s getting the permits that is difficult,” said City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe. “We need about a dozen, and it’s a long process.”

The bridge, which will be built using a $1.7 million state grant, must be constructed during a low-water “fish window” in the summer, Hinchliffe said. In order to begin construction in 2017, permits and approvals must be completed in a timely manner.

Zitterkopf said the environmental permitting is particularly time-consuming, and DAHP will need to sign off before the environmental permitting can be completed.

“This waterway and bridge is a huge asset for this town,” council member K.C. Kuykendall said. “It’s under-utilized right now because we don’t do a great job with it and haven’t made it particularly inviting. If we’re going to go through a couple-million-dollar project of replacing it, then that’s one of the things we may want to consider.

Kuykendall asked how the possible addition of a viewing area or deck, the integration of lighting, and the addition of walkways and/or bike paths might impact the railing.

“Those are the kinds of things we ought to be considering in this kind of a 100-year-project,” he said. “And we’d hoped to be able to do that. But we were afraid we’d be caught in a lurch because we had to pick from a pre-fab rail design, which will have an impact on what we do before or after.”

Zitterkopf said there are a multitude of options for rail designs, and they had simply presented options that were typically accepted that would fit with the funds available. He said designs vary widely in cost, depending on the intricacy.

“You do have some time (to decide), depending on what you want your schedule to be. The sooner the better just so we can get everything crossed off,” he said.

Business owner Joy Smith said she sees a lot of foot and bike traffic across the bridge that connects Preston Park to the newly developed Wait’s Mill Park, and that walkability is a priority.

Resident Denise Winnett objected to current plans that include a sidewalk on the east side of the bridge, only. Families walk up one side, look at the water, then cross over to the other side, she said.

“Even if you look at historic pictures that were taken from the old water tower, there were sidewalks on both sides that swooped into Main Street, welcoming. One-sided is not as welcoming,” Winnett said.

“I would rather trade away a more ornate railing than lose a sidewalk. If I had to pick where my money went, I would rather it continue our walkability than go toward a decorative balustrade,” Smith said.

Zitterkopf said that adding a sidewalk to the west side would mean a cost increase. Because the new road will be significantly higher than the existing street, sidewalks would need to be removed and replaced down First Street in order to match up, he said.

Resident Herb Bessey asked if culverts could be installed under the raised roadway in order to provide drainage in the event of a flood.

Zitterkopf said the idea had been explored several years ago but was tabled based on objections from downstream property owners. It’s easy to do if that’s something the council wants to do, he said.

Zitterkopf said the initial plan was to advertise the project for bid in January or February of 2017, with construction beginning in June. He said he would meet with his project team to see how much time they had before a decision on the rail design had to be made.

According to Hinchliffe, Zitterkopf met with project team members after the meeting and let the city know that Anderson Perry would need to submit design plans to DAHP by mid April and would like to have a decision from the city by the end of March. Further discussion of the bridge is on the agenda of the March 17 city council meeting.