North Aberdeen Bridge Project

Welcome to the City of Aberdeen’s North Aberdeen Bridge project website.

The City is exploring options to improve the North Aberdeen Bridge for residents, visitors, and businesses. The project team aims to address the aging and deteriorating bridge conditions, which will improve access, safety, and traffic flow, while preserving the legacy of one of Aberdeen’s most famous icons: Kurt Cobain. Please explore the information below to learn more about the project and view the Preferred Alternative design for the bridge.

About the project

The North Aberdeen Bridge is a two-lane bridge that was built in 1956 and carries Young Street across the Wishkah River. This bridge is a crucial link that helps residents and visitors travel between North Aberdeen and the Downtown area (see Figure 1). The City is kicking off the Alternatives Analysis phase that will help determine a long-term solution to fix the aging and deteriorating bridge. The project team will focus on the following goals as they work through the Alternatives Analysis phase:

  1. Fix the bridge’s structural safety problems: provide a bridge solution that meets current design and safety standards.
  2. Meet funding guidelines: complete the design phase of the project by September 1, 2026, to be eligible for 100% of the grant amount.
  3. Remember Kurt Cobain: Develop a bridge solution that will honor the significance of Kurt Cobain’s connection to the bridge and the surrounding area.
  4. Keep access to North Aberdeen open: develop a plan that will maintain access to North Aberdeen during construction.
  5. Make it safer for everyone: make the bridge work better for people who walk, bike, and drive so that everyone can get around safely.
Aerial view of existing North Aberdeen Bridge site and connections between North Aberdeen and the rest of the City of Aberdeen.
Figure 1: Existing project area and connection between North Aberdeen and the rest of the city (click on image to enlarge).
Labeled map of the current project area
Figure 2: Existing bridge location in relation to the rest of Aberdeen (click on image to enlarge).


Key project objectives

As the project team works to develop a solution for the North Aberdeen Bridge project, the following key objectives will be considered to help the City achieve the desired benefits:

Objective Benefit
Provide 'structurally sufficient' access across Wishkah River Reduce City costs for bridge repairs and maintenance
Work within $23.1M Project Grant Avoid need for additional funding source
Obligate construction funding by Sept. 2026 Avoid 13% local match for grant = $3M
Minimize impacts to surroundings Maintain Kurt Cobain significance; cohesive solution with North Shore Levee project
Maintain vehicle access to N. Aberdeen during construction Avoid rerouting traffic up Think-of-Me Hill

View the carousel below to see some of the key issues and needs for the project.

Project team

The City of Aberdeen Public Works staff is working with a consultant team, led by David Evans and Associates, Inc., to develop solutions for the North Aberdeen Bridge project.

City of Aberdeen Project Management Team

  • Kyle Fisher, Project Manager
  • Nick Bird, City Engineer
  • Rick Sangder, Public Works Director

Consultant Team

  • David Evans and Associates, Inc. (DEA)—Prime Consultant
  • AquaTerra (Cultural/Historical)
  • EnviroIssues (Public Outreach)
  • EPIC (R/W Acquisition)
  • Exeltech (Utility Design)
  • Ott-Sakai (Constructability Review)
  • Sage Geotechnical (Geotech)

The City expresses its deep appreciation to the partners who have made substantial contributions to the development of the project.

City of Aberdeen Project Logo Washington State Department of Transportation Logo

Funding

This project focuses on providing a safe and reliable multi-modal connection between North Aberdeen and the City of Aberdeen downtown core. With a $23.1M federal funding grant, the City aims to address structural deficiencies, meet design standards, honor the significance of Kurt Cobain, and avoid the need for contributing a $3.0M local funding match by completing the design process by September 1, 2026.

Process and timeline

Process and timeline

The North Aberdeen Bridge project is making great progress! In June 2023, the City received a grant and they selected a consultant team to design the bridge by September 2026. Moving forward, the project will be broken down into multiple phases (see below).

Project development process timeline with emphasis on preferred alternative being determined in June 2024.
Figure 3. Project development process phases (click on image to enlarge).

Research and investigations

This work includes identifying existing conditions within the Project vicinity to aid in the design of the ultimate bridge solution.

Alternatives analysis phase

The City is exploring ways to meet the project objectives, while honoring Kurt Cobain’s legacy linked to the bridge and surrounding area. This part of the project is called the “Alternatives Analysis” phase. Currently, the City is working with community stakeholders to understand the concerns and find cost-effective solutions. The project team is currently moving through the Alternatives Analysis phase, with the goal of identifying a preferred alternative in June 2024. The preferred alternative will serve as the basis for the Preliminary and Final Design phase.

The project team has established a Stakeholder Outreach Group (SOG) to support the Alternative Analysis phase. Here are the SOG members:

  • Aberdeen - Council Members
  • Aberdeen - Fire
  • Aberdeen - Parks
  • Aberdeen - Police
  • Aberdeen School District
  • Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation
  • Downtown Aberdeen Association
  • Friends of Aberdeen Museum
  • Grays Harbor PUD
  • Grays Harbor Transit
  • Greater Grays Harbor
  • Local Business(es)
  • Our Aberdeen
  • Quinault Nation
Group of people present at the first Stakeholder Outreach Group meeting in February 2023
Figure 4. First Stakeholder Outreach Group meeting held in February 2023 (click on image to enlarge).

Preliminary and final design

During this phase, the Preferred Alternative will be developed into detailed construction documents.

Environmental approvals

As the preferred alternative design solution is developed into more detail, the City will obtain local, state and federal approvals for the ultimate design solution.

Right of way

The City will evaluate property impacts associated with the ultimate design solution footprint and obtain any temporary or permanent property rights necessary to construct the project.

Construction phase (fall 2026 to fall 2028)

After the design, environmental approvals, and right of way phases are complete, the City will hire a construction contractor to build the ultimate design solution. During this phase, the City and the contractor will focus on maintaining access across the Wishkah River to North Aberdeen, safety, and minimizing impacts to the neighborhood and traveling public.


View of bridge facing north.
View of bridge facing north, highlighting the bridge’s degraded structural condition.
Warning sign for vehicle weight restrictions on bridge. 
Warning sign for vehicle weight restrictions on bridge. 
A memorial to late singer Kurt Cobain under the bridge.
A memorial to late singer Kurt Cobain under the bridge.
View of Kurt Cobain Memorial Park, directly next to the bridge.
View of Kurt Cobain Memorial Park, directly next to the bridge.
View of bridge showing utility lines and aging infrastructure.
View of bridge showing utility lines and aging infrastructure.
View of bridge facing the north bank of the river showing a natural gas pipeline warning sign.
View of bridge facing the north bank of the river showing a natural gas pipeline warning sign.

Level 2 alternatives analysis

Process overview

After completing technical research and receiving feedback from stakeholder members and the public in spring 2024, the project team evaluated 10 design variations during the initial, Level 1 Screening. Click here to see the initial Level 1 Screening alternatives.

This resulted in the selection of the Top 3 Alternatives, to move forward into the Level 2 Screening Process:

  • Option 2a
  • Option 2b
  • Option 3c

The Level 2 Screening Process delves deeper into the design evaluation of the following Top 3 Alternatives to better understand project costs and impacts associated with each alternative for comparison purposes. Learn more about the Top 3 Alternatives by clicking on each option below.


Option 2:

Build a new bridge & keep part or all of existing bridge


Option 2a overview:

  • 1
    Build new bridge next to the existing Young St. Bridge (vehicles, pedestrians, and bicycle access)
  • 2
    Rehabilitate the southern portion of existing bridge and leave in place (City will evaluate if this section can be used as a viewing platform)
  • 3
    Remove northern portion of existing bridge
Option 2A overview: Potential North Aberdeen Bridge alternative that involves building a new bridge while retaining the southern portion of the existing bridge and removing the northern portion.

Option 2a construction impacts:

Potential North Aberdeen Bridge alternative that involves building a new bridge while retaining the southern portion of the existing bridge and removing the northern portion.
  1. Contractor work bridge
  2. Disturbed area (city-owned parcel)
  3. Ground improvement
  4. Permanent right-of-way acquisition
  5. Temporary construction easement

Option 2a Property Impacts:

View of potential new bridge adjacent to the remaining southern portion of the existing bridge.
  1. Permanent right-of-way acquisition
  2. Temporary construction easement

Option 2b:

  • 1
    Build new bridge next to the existing Young St. Bridge for vehicles
  • 2
    Rehabilitate existing bridge for pedestrian and bicyclist use only (rehabilitation of existing piers will change appearance of bridge)
Potential North Aberdeen Bridge alternative that involves building a new bridge while retaining the existing bridge for pedestrian and bicyclist use only.

Option 2b construction impacts:

Option 2b Construction Impacts.
  1. Contractor work bridge
  2. Disturbed area (city-owned parcel)
  3. Ground improvement
  4. Permanent right-of-way acquisition
  5. Temporary construction easement

Option 2b property impacts:

Option 2b property impacts.
  1. Permanent right-of-way acquisition
  2. Temporary construction easement

Option 3:

Build new bridge & remove existing bridge


Option 3c:

  • 1
    Build new bridge for vehicles, pedestrians, and bikes in same location as existing bridge; build bridge in stages and use portion of new bridge as temporary bridge
  • 2
    Remove the existing bridge and repurpose parts of bridge into the Kurt Cobain Memorial Park
Option 3c overview

Option 3c construction impacts:

Option 3c Construction Impacts.
  1. Contractor work bridge
  2. Disturbed area (city-owned parcel)
  3. Ground improvement
  4. Permanent right-of-way acquisition
  5. Temporary construction easement

Option 3c property impacts:

Option 3c property impacts
  1. Permanent right-of-way acquisition
  2. Temporary construction easement

Cost evaluation

The Level 2 Screening process included the development of a more detailed preliminary construction cost estimate. These cost estimates include contingency values to account for the preliminary nature of the design but are useful tools for comparing the three options. This is also a valuable exercise to identify any potential funding gaps in relation to the City’s available grant. Click on each of the options below to view the detailed cost breakdown:

Level 2 screening results

Similar to Level 1 screening, the Top 3 Alternatives were evaluated during the Level 2 screening process using the following criteria:

  • Accommodates Kurt Cobain significance
  • Minimizes Impacts to Critical Areas
  • Minimizes impacts to existing utilities
  • Improves Multi-modal (bicycle/pedestrian) access
  • Minimizes Impacts to adjacent properties
  • Minimizes City's risk for potential safety/liability/durability concerns
  • Minimizes Project Construction Cost
  • Minimizes construction impacts to traveling public and surrounding neighborhood
  • Solution can be permitted and designed prior to September 2026

Below are the Level 2 Screening results for the top 3 alternatives:

Level 2 Screening Matrix

Preferred Alternative recommendation

The City’s technical team identified Option 3c as the highest scoring design and the most likely to meet the City’s funding goals. However, Option 2b was selected by the Stakeholder Group as the most desirable option, with the condition that additional private funding of approximately $10 million can be secured prior to the June 26, 2024, City Council Meeting.

June 26, 2024 update: As of today, project stakeholders were unable to secure additional private funding commitments and therefore the City will move forward with identifying Option 3c as the Preferred Alternative.

Next steps

The next major steps in this project are as follows:

  • The City will begin the Preliminary Design and Permitting phase for the Preferred Alternative, Option 3c.

Stay informed as the project advances by signing up for our Notify Me mailing list. Please remember to select the "North Aberdeen Bridge" option under the "Newsflash" section. See additional contact options below.