October 10, 2002

Public gets a say in new Magnolia Bridge

Photo courtesy of the city of Seattle The city is looking for ideas on where a new Magnolia Bridge should go and what it should look like.

The city of Seattle held its first open house last night to consider replacement options for the Magnolia Bridge.

The meeting was held to gather public input on where the new bridge should be located and what it should look like. The information will be used in the city's planning process for the bridge.

Part of the 1929 bridge was damaged in last year's Nisqually earthquake and another section was damaged in a December 1996 landslide. Atkinson Construction repaired the bridge last year for about $3 million. Landslide repairs were done in 1997 by Mowat Construction, with Atkinson building a retaining wall to baffle future landslides.

SeaTran spokeswoman Marybeth Turner said city engineers have determined that retrofitting the bridge would not be cost effective. Also, she said, annual maintenance is expensive.

Although the size, type or location of the new bridge has yet to be determined, Turner said a "wild guess" for the cost is around $90 million. The city has $9 million in federal funding to take the project through the design phase.

A second public meeting, tentatively scheduled for December, will present possible locations and designs for the bridge based on input from yesterday's open house.

Nearly 19,000 trips are made across the bridge each day, so maintaining traffic flow during construction of the new bridge is important. Turner said the city also wants to keep the Elliott Avenue West/15th Avenue West corridor, a major route for commuters and freight, moving during construction.

Another important issue is creating opportunities for development around the bridge. Turner said parts of the area are either underdeveloped or in need of redevelopment.

Consultants hired for the replacement study include: The HNTB Companies, prime engineering consultant; KPFF Consulting Engineers, civil engineer; Mirai Associates, transportation; Shannon & Wilson, geotech; Shapiro & Associates, environmental analysis; Weinstein Copeland Architects, architecture and urban design; and EnviroIssues, public involvement.

Public input on the bridge can also be sent via the Internet. For more information, go to www.seattle.gov/td/magreplace.asp.