PORT ANGELES — Clallam County received the state Department of Transportation Director’s Award for its work on the $20 million, double-deck Elwha River bridge.
The 85-foot-tall, 589-foot-long span on Elwha River Road opened in September 2009. It replaced a creaky one-lane bridge that closed one day after the 2007 collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis.
Kathleen Davis, director of highways and local programs for DOT, presented County Engineer Ross Tyler with the award — one of four Awards of Excellence that the state agency announced in September — at Tuesday’s commissioners’ meeting.
“It’s a rare event and a pretty big deal,” Tyler said.
“I have heard nothing but good comments on the design. . . . I really haven’t heard any complaints about the bridge itself, and that kind of tickles me.”
Davis presented a large picture board showing the old bridge juxtaposed with the new bridge.
A signature feature of the new bridge is the pedestrian deck — part of the Olympic Discovery Trail — that hangs below the wider vehicle deck on thick steel cables.
‘Jewel in community’
“I think you have a jewel in this community,” Davis said.
“I think you should be very proud. It’s a beautiful structure, and I think it will bring tourists, really, from across the country to your counties. So congratulations.”
The structure is supported by four sets of concrete piers, each of which is 10 feet in diameter. It was built outward from the support piers until it was joined at the middle.
Planning for the new Elwha River bridge began in the 1990s. The county in 1997 held a series of open houses on future plans of the aging steel bridge.
“This bridge replacement project includes a unique hanging pedestrian facility below the main road superstructure, which was one of the goals that came out of working closely with citizens and local businesses,” according to the Director’s Award citation.
“Construction of the bridge met with significant challenges due to the extreme terrain, so with the creativity used on the under-bridge pedestrian walkway, this stronger, narrower road bridge was possible. This monumental project was completed on time and within budget.”
Other Awards of Excellence went to the city of Deer Park, the city of Leavenworth and Snohomish County.
Amazing project
“To me, the project, really, is amazing,” Mike Canavan, assistant division administrator for Federal Highways Administration, told commissioners and public works officials Tuesday.
“I mean, you overcame environmental challenges, funding challenges and construction challenges. These projects really take a team effort. Everyone here who was involved should be very proud of what they’ve accomplished.”
Commissioner Mike Doherty said many would have hired an outside project manager. Clallam County managed the largest public works project in its history by itself.
“And on a project of this scale, it might have been $3 million or $4 million to manage the project,” Doherty said.
“By keeping the project in house like this, not only did we learn a lot, but we saved the county taxpayers a considerable amount of money,” Tyler added.
“This was a very, very tight project. It came in on time and on budget.”
Design work was contracted to Berger/ABAM. Parsons RCI was the construction contractor.
Tyler described the relationship as “probably one of the best working relationships that we have had with a contractor.”
“There was give and take, but never any butting heads,” he said. “It worked out very well.”
Doherty said retired Public Works Director Craig Jacobs spearheaded the effort to assemble the funds.
“Near the end of the project, there was actually about $2 million missing,” Doherty said.
“And we tried to figure out a way in house that the county could use a couple funds to pay that off.”
State House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler and other state and federal lawmakers helped close the funding gap, Doherty said.
Key contributors were the Federal Highway Administration, $12.5 million; Bureau of Indian of Affairs and the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe, $1.5 million; Clallam County, $2.53 million; National Parks Service, $1.8 million; state Recreation and Conservation Office, $1 million; and federal appropriations, $518,000 and $156,000.
Tyler and Doherty praised the public works employees, some of whom played lead roles in the bridge replacement project, for their efforts.
“This core of county road department employees just did a great job,” Doherty said.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
