Raft Island Bridge Replacement
Raft Island Improvement Association
Gig Harbor, Washington
Exeltech provided project management, civil and structural engineering for preliminary and final design, environmental permitting, and construction management services for this project to replace a failing timber trestle. The bridge was load restricted because of the advanced stage of deterioration and any delay of construction may have required closure of the bridge to emergency services vehicles.The new bridge is 22 feet wide, 753 feet long, with 11 spans of precast, prestressed concrete slab superstructure supported on steel pipe pile substructure.
Exeltech’s in-house permitting specialists prepared the complete environmental package, which included confirming the NEPA classification, amending a prior Biological Assessment, preparing the JARPA for Section 404 and Hydraulic Project Approval (HPA) permitting, SEPA, and Shoreline Management Act compliance. Critical tasks for this accelerated project included negotiating an extension of the in-water work period with regulating agencies to allow construction to begin in the fall, which avoided a one-year delay. A delay could have required closure of the bridge to some emergency services vehicles. Proactive communication with regulatory agencies was key to successful permitting on an accelerated schedule. Exeltech designed, permitted, and advertised this project for construction on an accelerated schedule of seven months to avoid delaying construction an entire year due to in-water work timing restrictions.