PORT ANGELES — The bridge carrying Lauridsen Boulevard over Peabody Creek is set to open today, two months after the project was expected to be completed.
City officials and council members will be on hand Monday morning for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new bridge starting at 10 a.m., City Engineer Mike Puntenney said Friday.
Craig Fulton, city public works and utilities director, said the ribbon cutting will take place in the middle of the new bridge span.
“I’m thinking parking is going to be best on the west side,” he said.
In additional to city officials and representatives of the contractors involved in the
$4.5 million project, Fulton said students from Franklin Elementary School will be on hand, with one student helping to cut the ribbon.
The school at 2505 S. Washington St., sits within sight and earshot of the bridge, Fulton added.
Fulton said the bridge likely will be open to vehicle traffic by about noon after people clear the area following the ceremony.
City officials have decided to keep the four-way stop at the intersection of East Park Avenue and South Race Street, Puntenney said.
The stop signs were added as traffic control measures while detours diverting traffic around the bridge construction were in place.
“It will be a permanent four-way [stop],” Puntenney said.
The bridge replacement project began in August after the original 60-year-old bridge was closed and demolished.
The work, done by Kent-based Scarsella Bros. Inc., was slated to be completed in February, but contractor delays and bad weather pushed the completion date back, city officials said.
“It’s been on budget,” Fulton said.
A federal grant is funding 80 percent of the project, with the city providing the remaining 20 percent of the cost.
The new Lauridsen bridge includes two 12-foot-wide vehicle lanes, an eastbound center turn lane, widened sidewalks and two 5-foot-wide bicycle lanes.
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Reporter Jeremy Schwartz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jschwartz@peninsuladailynews.com.
