Confluence Parkway Project South Design Moves Forward

The city of Wenatchee is moving forward with the next step in the Confluence Parkway project.

A target project budget, scope, and schedule has been developed for the southern portion of the Parkway project, which will provide road and walking/biking trail improvements on Miller and Hawley Streets starting at the intersection of Miller and SR 285/North Wenatchee Avenue.

Confluence Parkway South Phase 1a has been completed and the city council has now approved a move to Phase 1b.

City Administrator Laura Gloria has been authorized to issue a task order for the Kraemer Scarsella Brothers Joint Venture to advance the project through the Design Development Phase, which includes moving the design to the target budget, developing a detailed cost model in collaboration with the City and developing a proposal to complete the Confluence Parkway project southern portion.

City Engineer Jake Lewing told city councilors at their last meeting that Phase 1b is the next planned step in the Parkway project southern portion.

"This would authorize the design builder to advance the design and development of the project to approximately about a 60 percent design level, at which point later this year we will negotiate a maximum price for them to complete the design and construct the project," said Lewing.

The current contract amount of roughly $2.4 million will be increased to approximately $7.9 million in Phase 1b.

The total budget for preliminary engineering for Confluence Parkway South has increased from about $13.3 million to $15.2 million.

The city was awarded $92.4 million in federal funding - INFRA (the Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight & Highway Projects program) - to supplement state and local funding to complete the Apple Capital Loop network of projects which includes Confluence Parkway South.

Phase 1b is expected to be completed in November of this year. The Phase 2 Final Design & Construction is anticipated to begin in November, with actual construction activities to begin in the Spring of 2025.

Among the major improvements included in Confluence Parkway South are:

• Two new bridges crossing over the BNSF railroad on North Miller Street and McKittrick Street, eliminating delays and possible safety incidences caused by the daily trains.
• The extension of McKittrick Street between SR 285 and the new Parkway to provide direct access to the Columbia River waterfront from SR 285.

The city finalized selection of a Progressive Design-Build contractor in November 2023 to help design and build the Confluence Parkway. The city is being assisted by a joint venture of construction contractors Kraemer North America, LLC of Plain, Wisconsin and Scarsella Bros. of Kent, Washington.

A Progressive Design-Build approach differs from more traditional design and build methods because it allows for increased collaboration between the city and the contractor during the design and construction process.

Design adjustments will likely be considered due to rapidly rising construction costs across the country during the last two years.