RiverWalk | Methow Grist

The Town of Winthrop has received good news on two fronts in its efforts to build the RiverWalk Trail through downtown, according to town planner Rocklynn Culp.

RH2 Engineering, the firm hired by the town to investigate whether it’s feasible to build a pedestrian underpass below the Highway 20 bridge over the Chewuch River on Bridge Street, has indicated that it found nothing that raises any red flags, Culp told Methow Grist on Tuesday (Feb. 11). "It all sounds good," she said.

The town was required to conduct a hydrological and geo-technical study of the soils underneath the bridge by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT). The purpose of the study was to ascertain if building the underpass would undermine the integrity of the bridge in any way, Culp said. Based on what the firm’s draft report indicates, she said, that appears unlikely. "It’s all bedrock."

The firm’s report must be accepted by WSDOT before work can begin on the underpass, said Culp, who added that she does not know how much time the state agency will take to make its decision about whether to accept the report’s findings.

In related news, the town learned Monday that its request for $365,000 in federal surface transportation funds has been approved. “That takes a load of worry off my mind,” said Culp. "With this $365,000, we have the [matching funds] to move forward."

Those funds will pay for 75 percent of the $487,000 cost of building the underpass grade to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), said Culp. The underpass will be ADA compliant from the top of the north bank and underneath the bridge to the top of the south bank, she said. The $122,000 remainder of the underpass cost will be paid for by state funds shifted from the $365,000 Recreation and Conservation Office grant for completion of the Susie Stephens Trail, Culp added.

The second phase of the Susie Stephens Trail is scheduled to be built to Highway 20 across from the Virginian Motel this year, according to Culp. The federal funds for the underpass must be spent by the end of 2015, she said.