1950s-era bridge will be replaced

By Pat Jenkins

A timeworn bridge in south Pierce County won't reach its 60th birthday but instead will be reincarnated as a new, modern span with the chops to handle whatever comes its way.
The two-lane bridge over the north fork of Muck Creek in the Spanaway area was shut down July 17 by Pierce County and will remain closed for about four months while it is being replaced. Its $1.4 million heir is expected to be ready for traffic in late November.
Until then, a seven-mile detour will take motorists along Rice Kandle Road, Eighth Avenue South and 288th Street East. A map of the route is available at www.piercecountywa.org/muckcreekbridge.
The 32-foot-long bridge – part of Eighth Avenue East, about a half-mile south of 260th Street East and near the southeast corner of Joint Base Lewis-McChord – was built in 1959, when Dwight Eisenhower was president of the United States, Albert Rosellini was Washington's governor, and Hawaii became the 50th state. Age and traffic volumes have caught up with it.
“The existing bridge wasn't designed to accommodate modern vehicle loads and volumes,” said Kraig Shaner, bridge engineering supervisor for Pierce County's Planning and Public Works Department. “Maintenance needs continue to increase as the bridge ages.”
About 2,900 vehicles per day have been crossing the bridge, which was built from creosote-treated timber and precast concrete deck panels. The new one will be a prestressed concrete girder structure. The roadway on each end of it will be reconstructed. Crews will also replant any trees or plants that are disturbed the work, officials said.
The contractor for the project is Active Construction Inc., a Tacoma-based company that will demolish and remove the old bridge and build the new one. Active, which was awarded the contract in May after submitting the lowest bid, will also temporarily divert the creek during the work.
The construction cost, pegged by county officials at $1,419,000, will be covered with $1.1 million in federal money (via the Federal Highway Bridge Replacement Program) and $283,800 in county road funds.