Bridge Girders Arrive as Confluence Parkway Project Advances

The City of Wenatchee is making progress on Phase 1 of the Confluence Parkway project.

N. Miller Street Overpass Construction Update

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Public Works Director Tom Wachholder said the first set of bridge girders for the new N. Miller Street overpass arrived in Wenatchee Friday morning. They will continue to roll in over the next several days, and there may be some impacts to traffic.

"The girders are approximately 10 feet tall by 190 feet long," Wachholder said. "We're scheduled to get the remaining girders over the next week or so, and they will get put up periodically. Keep in mind these are oversize loads, so their arrival is weather dependent."

The girders will be placed in abutments that will eventually carry traffic over the BNSF Railway at N. Miller Street.

McKittrick Street Underpass Milestones

Since breaking ground in April 2025, the project reached several milestones across both the McKittrick Street Underpass and the N. Miller Street Overpass.

For McKittrick Street, crews constructed a temporary railroad track (aka a "shoofly") to maintain uninterrupted rail service during bridge construction, completed the underpass foundation and installed girders for the first half of the bridge, and installed main line tracks on the new bridge. Rail service is now operating on the new bridge, and the shoofly has been removed.

For N. Miller Street, Public Works worked with Chelan County PUD to pave the way for construction of the overpass, demolished buildings near the North Miller Business Park, began construction on the overpass foundation with girder erection to be completed in the next couple of weeks, and installed new utilities and repaired existing utilities south of the BNSF Railway.

"So far there's been no noteworthy concerns," Wachholder said. "They installed a number of drill shafts placed quite deep, over 20 to 30 feet deep, and they're quite a complex operation and encountered no concerns."

What Comes Next in Phase 1

The city hopes to finish Confluence Parkway Phase 1 by the end of 2027, with the McKittrick Street Underpass to be completed by this Fall.

When it finishes, the Confluence Parkway Project will create a new bridge over the Wenatchee River, increase waterfront access, and decrease reliance on N. Wenatchee Ave. Wachholder said the project also aims to increase public safety in the event of a wildfire emergency.