City updates timeline for Edgewater Bridge replacement after crews find buried obstructions

Mayor Franklin told the City Council the Edgewater Bridge replacement project has encountered unexpected site conditions that have lengthened the detour on Mukilteo Boulevard and disrupted residents’ daily travel. "We cannot risk having any part of our community separated in case of an earthquake or disaster, so safety is always our number 1 concern," the mayor said, and added that he had directed the public works director to monitor and seek ways to accelerate work.

The issue centers on the temporary work platform needed to support cranes and equipment while crews demolish the existing 79-year-old bridge and build the new structure. City Engineer Tom Hood said the platform is supported by dozens of steel piles drilled into the ravine to reach suitable bearing soils but that crews encountered "many unknown obstructions" of timber and concrete while drilling. "We truly did not know that they were there until we started drilling and ran into them," Hood said, and he said removal of the obstructions has added time, destabilized steep slopes in the ravine and complicated pile installation.

Public works Director Ryan Sass told the council the department recognizes the closure is disruptive and will pursue contract and scheduling options to recover time. "I will ensure that [the] public works project and construction management team explore all feasible contract options for schedule recovery and consolidation of activities to try to minimize the amount of additional closure time," he said. The mayor also said city staff are meeting weekly with the contractor, Granite Construction, to "troubleshoot, find efficiencies, and make sure we're doing everything possible to deliver this critical project faster than the current estimates."

Hood reported a milestone: "all of the piles for the work platform have now been installed," which allows the city to begin demolition of the old bridge and focus on accelerating subsequent tasks. He said staff and the contractor will examine overtime, parallel tasking and other consolidations to regain schedule.

During the update, Councilor MacTouey asked about budgetary effects of the unforeseen conditions. MacTouey requested a follow-up briefing when cost impacts are known: "when you know that, you can just brief us on that." City staff said they will provide additional information as it becomes available and noted a project website is available for public monitoring.

No formal motions or votes were taken during the update; the discussion was a staff progress report and direction from the mayor for staff to pursue schedule recovery and to provide further briefings to the council and the public.