Getting There: Latah Bridge inspection could lead to federal rehabilitation grant

James Hanlon, The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.
·3 min read

Aug. 6—The Spokane City Council last week approved an inspection of Latah Creek Bridge, which will allow the city to apply for a federal grant to repair the aging structure.

Information gathered from the study will be used to apply for a federal Bridge Investment Program grant that could provide up to $100 million for the project.

"We've known that we've needed to do a pretty good rebuild on the Latah Bridge site for quite some time," said Marlene Feist, director of public works. "We just need some extra data to fill in the gaps for the study to get approval."

The council awarded the inspection to KPFF Consulting Engineers. The total cost of the contract is $157,000.

Latah Bridge, also known as Sunset Bridge or High Bridge, carries Sunset Highway over Latah Valley and connects Spokane's urban center to the West Plains. It runs parallel to the bridges carrying Interstate 90 and tracks owned by BNSF Railway.

The concrete arched bridge was built in 1913 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

A 2012 study deemed portions of the bridge's deck unsafe, reducing the lanes of traffic from four to two. The bridge's sidewalks were also closed.

The study recommended a long-term solution that would widen the deck back to at least four lanes to accommodate growing traffic demands.

This existing study will be used as much as possible in the grant application, according to an agenda sheet prepared by the Integrated Capital Management office.

The KPFF inspection will supplement the 2012 study by providing updated data and a load-rating analysis.

Work to watch for

Installation of sidewalks along Alberta and Cochran streets, and Driscoll Boulevard, in the Audobon-Downriver neighborhood will cause lane closures beginning Monday. The $1.5 million project will begin on the west side of the intersection of Driscoll Boulevard and Alberta Street.

Strong Road will close Monday from Austin to Five Mile roads for road improvement work that will also include repaving of an adjacent shared-use path. The work will total $1.4 million, and detours will be in place.

The southbound lane of Division Street between Houston and Francis avenues will be closed Tuesday for Arc Electric work. North Foothills Drive between Wolverton/Hamilton streets and Fire Station No. 2 will also close Tuesday, as will one southbound curb lane of Nevada/Wolverton streets between Euclid and North Foothills Drive.

Grand Boulevard will also be closed Tuesday between 13th and 16th avenues on the South Hill to repair a water line.

Wall Street is closed downtown between Main Avenue and the River Park Square service alley through Aug. 31 for a summer patio program.

Melkapsi Street between Liberty Drive and Wright Boulevard in Liberty Lake will have closures beginning Monday through October for a sewer and water line replacement project.

Abbott Road between Garden Springs and Windsor roads will be closed from 7 a.m. Monday through 5 p.m. Friday for a paving project. There will also be work in the nearby right of way.

Reporter Trevor Picanco contributed to this report.

James Hanlon's reporting for The Spokesman-Review is funded in part by Report for America and by members of the Spokane community. This story can be republished by other organizations for free under a Creative Commons license. For more information on this, please contact our newspaper's managing editor.