City of Wenatchee Continues Work for Pedestrian Bridge for Apple Capital Loop Project

The City of Wenatchee will be moving forward with their South End Bike/Pedestrian Access Bridges project after agreeing to negotiate design work with their consultant Thursday.

These pedestrian bridges are part of the Apple Capital Loop project, which received over $92 million in Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grants back in 2021.

For a total of $285 million, the Apple Capital Loop project would have an 11-mile loop constructed to connect Wenatchee and East Wenatchee.

In Nov. 2022, the city agreed to allocate $750,000 towards this project, along with supplementing around $250,000 towards the final design. Project Engineer Jake Lewing shared that this project would cost a total of $10 million.

In February, both the City of Wenatchee and City of East Wenatchee selected Exeltech Consulting out of the three firms who applied.

Get our free mobile app

According to council packet materials, the project would provide a pedestrian/bike access route away from vehicles, remove an existing railroad barrier that limits pedestrian access to South Wenatchee neighborhoods, and construct an overcrossing of SR 28 on the east side of the Columbia River.

According to council documents, this project would include the construction of grade-separated (a structure separating the vehicle roadway from railroad tracks) path crossings on SR 28 in East Wenatchee, and the BNSF Railway right-of-way (ROW) in Wenatchee near the existing Loop Trail pipeline bridge.

Documents also entail that the west bridge in Wenatchee would connect to the existing bridge in East Wenatchee, crossing over the railroad to the west and travel down the street through a ramp or spiral structure. 

There will also be a second access ramp or spiral structure on the north side of the west bridge, between the railroad and existing bridge.

The east bridge in East Wenatchee will be near the existing bridge and cross over SR 28 in the east-west direction through ramp or spiral, and will drop down near 9th Street NE.  

Upon agreement, the city would need to complete a supplemental agreement with Exeltech to complete the final design.

This project is scheduled for construction approval in September 2024, with construction beginning in the Spring of 2025 through Fall of 2026.

The city is still waiting for approval from the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT).