$19.3 Million Construction Contract Awarded for New West Cashmere Bridge

The Chelan County Board of Commissioners awarded the lucrative new West Cashmere Bridge construction contract to SB Structures of Seattle Tuesday.

Public Works PIO Jill Fitzsimmons said SB Structures will be paid $19.3 million while the project is expected to cost $25.5 million overall.

"This is a project that we've been working on since 2016. So those other costs come in engineering." Fitzsimmons explained, "When construction does start, and that should be this spring probably after March, that's going to take about 20 months to complete. So we're looking at opening the new bridge late next year."

Road delays and closures will be decided by SB Structures. Fitzsimmons hopes the contractor will have more firm project dates by March's open house.

An open house for the project will be held March 24th at the Cashmere Riverside Center at 4:30 to 6:30 pm. Officials from Public Works will also be on hand to answer any questions.

The new bridge's north approach will expand over Highway 97/2 and include a roundabout at Hay Canyon Road.

Commonly called the Goodwin Road bridge, the 91-year-old structure is being replaced after studies and inspections determined it is a fracture critical, functionally obsolete structure. According to a Public Works press release, the bridge has both height and weight restrictions, prohibiting freight trucks, school buses and some emergency response vehicles from using it.

The Goodwin Road bridge will be removed and demolished this spring through the summer.