Cle Elum firm buys Mount Si Bridge
May 7, 2008
By Ed Farrell
A Cle Elum firm with a history of recycling and reusing properties and materials was the sole bidder for the purchase of the Mount Si Bridge in North Bend.
When King County officials opened bids for the bridge April 24, the task was an easy one – Scatter Creek Holdings, LLC was the only firm to formally make an offer.
Of exactly $102.51.
That works out to well under $1 for each of the old bridge’s 171 feet of steel truss, but is still well above the minimum $1 opening bid.
Representatives of Scatter Creek Holdings would not comment on the record, saying only that they were still working through negotiations as to where the bridge would be moved for the third time in its existence.
The bridge, which is being replaced by a new $21.5 million structure, was built in 1914 to span the White River between Buckley and Enumclaw. It was moved to the present location over the Snoqualmie River in 1955.
Russ Johnson, of the King County Department of Transportation’s Road Services Division, said he was “delighted” to receive any bid at all for the structure, which the county sought fruitlessly to sell to another governmental organization, in order to maintain the bridge’s historical landmark status.
When that search failed, the county opened up the process to the general public.
“If you would have asked me six months ago, I would have said there’s no chance we would have received a bid,” Johnson said. “There’s just too many obstacles in the way, so we’re tickled to be able to sell it.”
Among the obstacles is the fact the bridge is covered in layers of lead-based paint, which will cost Scatter Creek a considerable sum to deal with properly.
Prior to receiving the bid, Johnson estimated that any purchaser would likely assume an overall cost of between $700,000 to $900,000 to disassemble and then reassemble the structure at another location.
Johnson said the deal with Scatter Creek is firm, provided the group meet certain conditions, such as obtaining a performance bond and meeting insurance requirements.
“And they must have a plan in place to deal with the lead paint,” he said.
The new Mount Si Bridge is scheduled to open by fall 2008, and as soon as it does, the old bridge must come out, Johnson said, because it will be considered a navigational hazard.
The new bridge is both longer and wider, and is designed to offer better alignment and approaches for motorists, Johnson said. The new span will also have a 6-foot wide sidewalk for pedestrians and bicyclists.
Johnson said Mowat Construction, which is building the new structure, will eventually lift the entire old bridge off its settings and place it on an old section of road.
“It ought to be something spectacular to watch,” he said.
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