The city of Spokane Valley has been awarded an $8.1 million grant by the Federal Highway Administration to replace the Barker Road Bridge.


The bridge is a two-lane span that sits almost halfway between Interstate 90 and Trent Avenue, and carries traffic across the Spokane River. The new, roughly 520-foot-long bridge will add one lane in each direction, says Steve Worley, the citys senior engineer for its capital improvement program.


Engineering work for the project will begin later this year, and construction is slated to begin in 2007 or 2008, Worley says.


The Federal Highway Administrations grant, which was approved last month, will pay for the project completely, he says.


The Barker Road Bridge, which was built in 1952, is being replaced because its deteriorating, Worley says. Though it doesnt have any weight restrictions, its deck is coming apart and its sidewalks are substandard, he says.


Its at the point where its not worth trying to rehabilitate it because its based on old construction standards, he says. Its far more economical to replace it.


The U.S. government requires bridges to be inspected every two years to ensure public safety, Worley says.


A new Barker Road Bridge also was needed to accommodate increased traffic there in the future, he says.


Bob Brueggeman, an assistant Spokane County engineer, says that traffic on the bridge, which currently carries about 9,700 vehicles per day, is expected to at least double in the next 20 years. Future business growth at the Spokane Business & Industrial Park might contribute to the increased traffic on the bridge, since it feeds into the east entrance of the park, he says.


Worley says the city of Spokane Valley must consider future traffic projections before moving ahead with construction plans.


Wed hate to build one now and come back 10 years from now and say, Hey, we need another one, he says.


Bridges usually are designed to meet traffic projections for 50 years, while roads are designed to meet the estimates for 20 years, Worley says.


He says the city hasnt considered yet whether it will tear down the entire bridge and construct the new one or if it will take the same approach as is being used on the Argonne Road Bridge project, in which one half of the bridge was torn down and reconstructed while the other half continued to carry traffic.


The Federal Highway Administrations bridge replacement advisory committee suggested that the Barker Road Bridge be rehabilitated after Spokane County submitted a grant application for the bridge a few years ago.


Soon afterwards, federal bridge inspectors visited the site and concluded it should be replaced instead of rehabilitated, Worley says.


After the city of Spokane Valley incorporated last April, it resubmitted the grant application for bridge replacement, he says.


Future traffic projections for the bridge and its deterioration prompted the Federal Highway Administration to award the grant through its bridge-replacement program, Worley says. Local jurisdictions here and throughout the U.S. apply for those funds, he says.


Last November, the Washington state Transportation Improvement Board awarded the city of Spokane Valley a $2.4 million grant for a $3 million project that will widen Barker from Boone Avenue to the bridge, adding a third, center-turn lane to that two-lane road. Construction on that project is slated to begin in 2005 or 2006.