SEQUIM — Replacement of a damaged trestle on Railroad Bridge will begin today, and the bridge, a link in the Olympic Discovery Trail, is expected to be open after work is completed in December.
Permits are now in place for the $1.53 million project on the 570-foot-long trestle, said Annette Nesse, chief operations officer for the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe, which owns Railroad Bridge Park and the bridge.
The tribe, working with numerous entities with a vested interest in the bridge, concluded the best option is to completely remove and replace the trestle, Nesse said.
“This option addresses tribal transportation infrastructure goals and provides for river processes, meeting important salmon habitat goals as well.”
The rain-swollen Dungeness River on Feb. 6 tore away pilings and a truss section of the trestle — located in the park, 2151 W. Hendrickson Road.
The bridge itself is undamaged, but traffic over it has been closed since February because the trestle is unsafe.
Nordland Construction Northwest of Port Townsend has been retained as the contractor for construction of the replacement trestle using design and engineering schematics completed by Otak, an international multidisciplinary design firm based in Portland, Ore.
Since the bridge closure began in February, the tribe has sought funding and worked with design engineers to determine the best fix for the trestle, built in the 1960s, Nesse said.
Project stakeholders include the tribe, Dungeness River Audubon Center, the center’s board, the Peninsula Trails Coalition, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, Clallam County, the North Olympic Salmon Coalition and the North Olympic Peninsula Lead Entity.
The replacement design will allow logs and migrating salmon to pass beneath the new trestle without hindrance by reducing the number of support beams needed to prop up the walkway.
The trestle previously was propped up in 38 areas by five creosote poles in each location. The depth of the pilings varies from 6 feet to 25 feet.
Total replacement of the trestle will see the removal of 33 remaining creosote timber pile bent supports from the river bed.
Five pile bents that were in contact with the western river channel previously were removed Aug. 1-2 by a demolition team to allow free passage of spawning chinook and pink salmon.
The new design incorporates only three support structures beneath the trestle, providing much more space for debris and fish to pass beneath without getting jammed up.
It also will restore the Olympic Discovery Trail Dungeness River bike and pedestrian crossing with a trestle of modern materials that is structurally sound, Nesse said.
Throughout the construction project, the Olympic Discovery Trail from Runnion Road to the trestle will be closed.
Access to the site from other directions also is prohibited for safety reasons.
However, Railroad Bridge Park will remain open during most of the construction, including for the 16th annual Dungeness River Festival, held there and at the Audubon center Sept. 25-26.
Park users still may go to the river to the south of the project area using the river trail from the gazebo, but they should not wade into the river adjacent to the bridge and trestle area from the east or north.
The contractor will work to accommodate safe viewing of the work from the bridge, Nesse said.
The design and engineering work was paid for with a $172,000 grant from the state Recreation & Conservation Office Salmon Recovery Fund Board, which also funded $1.53 million of the replacement project.
Several other sources of funding also will be used to build the project, including tribal insurance proceeds, tribal transportation funding, a Bureau of Indian Affairs grant, a Floodplains by Design grant and a contribution from the Peninsula Trails Coalition.
Additionally, a First Federal Community Foundation grant of $100,000 will be used to re-deck the Howe truss bridge portion of the crossing.
________
Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.
