Wenatchee To Fill Sidewalk Gaps In Project For Use Of State Money

Wenatchee is taking another step to fill in sidewalk gaps across the city. 

The city council approved a contract Thursday to build a sidewalk near Mission View Elementary school. 

Wenatchee Engineering Services Manager Ryan Harmon says the project is part of a work plan the city's established for the use of state money. 

"One of the buckets of money is for just general sidewalk gaps," Harmon said. "And we prioritized these based on proximity to schools, where these gaps are, access to transit." 

The project will fill a sidewalk gap on South Wenatchee Avenue near the school - from Viewdale Ave. to Mission View Elementary. 

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In March of 2022, the city received a $600,000 Complete Streets grant from the Washington State Transportation Improvement Board (TIB). 

The state legislature established the Complete Streets Grant Program in 2015. One of its chief priorities is to promote healthy communities by encouraging walking, bicycling, and using public transportation. 

One of the projects on the city's work plan was to construct sidewalks on streets where no sidewalk currently exists, prioritizing locations based on Link Transit rider data and proximity to schools, parks, grocery stores, etc.  

City staff targeted the sidewalk gap near Mission View Elementary school for the funding based on those criteria. 

The project will start work in July and take about four weeks to complete. 

The contract was awarded to Rudnick and Sons LLC, which submitted the lowest of five bids at $124,955.00.  

Harmon says it'll be their first project with a contractor that has established a good reputation. 

"They're doing a lot of great work, building around town," Harmon said. "This would be, kind of, our first experience seeing them in a capital project." 

The city engineer’s estimate for the project was $114,145.00., however it was budgeted for $140,000, which is more than what Rudnick and Sons proposed in its bid.