Original contract amount
$14,260,436
Address
Allen Street, Kelso
Start of construction
July 1999
Expected completion date
Fall 2001
Owner
Kelso Public Works
|
|
Description
The new Allen Street bridge will replace the two-lane steel
truss bridge built in 1922, which is functionally obsolete in design
and capacity. The new bridge, constructed of seven spans of prestressed
concrete girders totaling 1,200 feet in length, will have two lanes
in each direction, with a shoulder and sidewalk on each side. The bridge
will span the Cowlitz River, the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad
and two streets of downtown Kelso.
A 600-foot approach embankment using Hilfiker welded wire reinforced
earth will be constructed. The use of block, sandblast and brick form
liners on the columns and walls of the structure, and concrete traffic
barrier with panel openings will retain the architectural history and
character of Kelso.
Upon completion, the City of Kelso expects the following benefits from
the new bridge:
- the railroad and Allen Street grade intersection will be eliminated
(currently, 26,000 vehicles per day share an intersection with the
railroad, which carries 50-60 trains per day);
- the commercial vehicle traffic capacity (freight mobility) will
be doubled between Kelso and Longview in this area;
- the traffic circulation in east Kelso will be improved, with the
majority of the congestion-related traffic being elevated to the new
bridge above the surface streets;
- the annual societal benefits are projected to exceed $1 million
in the combined savings of time and fuel.
The Federal Highway Administration, the Transportation Improvement
Board, the Washington State Department of Transportation, Burlington
Northern Santa Fe Railroad and the city of Kelso are the major funding
sources the project.
|
