City of Aberdeen takes another step toward Young Street Bridge removal

The city of Aberdeen moved one step closer to what looks to be the destruction and replacement of the North Aberdeen Bridge — also known as the Young Street Bridge — in the next three-and-a-half years.

Aberdeen City Council unanimously approved a recommendation to authorize Aberdeen Mayor Pete Schave and Public Works Director Rick Sangder to sign “all standard Washington state Department of Transportation (WSDOT) agreements relative to obligation and implementation of the North Aberdeen Bridge, replacement preliminary engineering, right-of-way, and construction phases, and authorize the Public Works Department to advertise Request for Qualifications for the preliminary engineering phase and advertise for construction bids,” the recommendation states.

The Washington state Joint Transportation Committee provided $25 million in funding to the city of Aberdeen for the replacement of the 67-year-old bridge. The process has an estimated cost of $23.2 million. Construction must start by Sept. 2026.

The federally funded replacement, which Aberdeen Public Works applied for through a WSDOT Local Bridge Program for $23.2 million, does not require any matching funding from the city. The estimated funds are broken down below:

• Construction phase — $19.5 million

• Preliminary Engineering phase — $3.2 million

• Right-of-way phase — $500,000

But, it’s not just another bridge, as Dee Anne Shaw, Ward 6 Position 12 councilor for Aberdeen City Council, pointed out on Wednesday night during the Aberdeen City Council meeting.

“Even when we got authorized seeking grants to replace the bridge, in public works we talked about how important it will be to do the project right,” Shaw said. “That it’s bigger than just another bridge.”

Most commonly known as the Young Street Bridge, it’s more unique than other bridges throughout Aberdeen. The bridge, which carries traffic and pedestrians over the Wishkah River, has been referenced in Nirvana’s music catalogue. The song “Something in the Way” — the 12th track off of the Grunge rock band’s album “Nevermind” is about the bridge. And there is also a famous sign underneath the bridge that reads “In Memoriam. From the Banks of the Muddy Wishkah.” The second part of the sign is also the name of a live album the band released in 1996.

Here’s an excerpt from “Something in the Way,” which references the bridge:

“Underneath the bridge,

Tarp has sprung a leak

And the animals I’ve trapped

Have all become my pets

And I’m living off of grass

And the drippings from my ceiling

It’s OK to eat fish

Cause they don’t have any feelings.”

The bridge isn’t just known for a song by Aberdeen’s late Kurt Cobain. There are personal messages galore written to Cobain, Nirvana, and what the band meant to fans, which reside underneath the bridge. The Kurt Cobain Memorial Park is a few steps away from the bridge, and a lot of people care about it.

Michael Dickerson, member of Our Aberdeen, is ardently against the removal of the bridge.

“There are people who come from all over the world to see that bridge …” said Dickerson. “… I think (saving the bridge) is a crusade that is well-worth taking on. This is not a bridge that should be torn down. It’s like tearing down a cathedral.”

Lee Bacon spoke recently about the bridge’s importance to the city and to its tourists. He said tourists fly to Washington state from outside the country to see the bridge. Bacon is also the owner of the Side One Building, which is part of a three-pronged project to bring more Nirvana fanfare to Aberdeen.

“Outside of (Cobain’s) childhood home, that (bridge) is the most iconic destination that people come to, without fail,” Bacon said. “We see and we talk to fans from all over the world. I say all over, all countries come to that destination. I’m sure it drives the neighbors over there a little crazy at times, but there’s a lot of stories that have come from that location.”

Despite the bridge being unique for its historic, music connections, Shaw pointed out why it needs to be replaced.

“We’ve known for several years there are some safety issues with that bridge, and it has some weight restrictions on it,” said Shaw, who later clarified it’s safe for transit but there are weight restrictions for it. “And so we, just so you know, threw our project in the pot and didn’t have any idea when we might get funded to replace this bridge.”

In late October, Nick Bird, engineer for the city of Aberdeen, said the bridge’s age is “not the defining characteristic.”

“Condition is the principal driver for replacement of the structure,” Bird said.

And then the city, which was originally supposed to receive $15 million, instead received $25 million during the fall. It caught Shaw and Ruth Clemens, Aberdeen city administrator, by surprise.

“The Joint Transportation Committee came back to us and offered to fund the whole thing of $25 million,” Clemens said in late October. “It caught us off-guard, really. We’re so overjoyed by that. We’ll gladly accept it.”

The city applied for funding for the bridge’s replacement in 2019 and then again in 2021, according to Bird.

According to Shaw, Aberdeen’s Public Works committee has had “at length” discussions on what the project might look like going forward. But what those ideas are remains unknown.

“But we would like people to be rest assured that we want to do something really special there,” Shaw said about the bridge’s site. “And the timeline, what we’re approving tonight, the specs that go out for a new one that assists with this project are going to include a requirement to have some public engagement. And we are going to be seeking ideas and comments and be holding public meetings. That’s gonna be taking place.”

Shaw wants people to be patient, because the city does want to know what the public has to say and the ideas the public has in order to commemorate the bridge.

That said, the funding is just for the bridge’s removal and replacement. Anything else done would come from the city.

“We just need to know going forward that the plus part of it is going to be on us,” Shaw said. “So we need to be creative and find ways to make this something really special. But I think we also have a really good opportunity to have it be something really positive and engage people even beyond or outside of Aberdeen, and something so that it can continue to be a draw for the community.”

Liz Ellis, Ward 3 Position 5 councilor for Aberdeen City Council, posed the lone question after Shaw was done speaking on the matter.

“Do you know an amount, or what the plus would involve?” Ellis said. “Or is that to be determined?”

Shaw told her the “plus” figure is to be determined.

“That’s the part of the public engagement process on what we would like it to look like,” Shaw said. “And you can’t start really attaching numbers until we’ve kind of had (discussions) on what we might want to try and do there.”

Shaw said the schedule calls for having a consultant on board to help with the project by mid-June. The scope of the work will include a public engagement process.

Part of the consultant’s effort that the city anticipates, Shaw said, is the requirement of a pre-design report to “specifically include an alternative’s analysis comparing rehabilitation and replacement. … I remain hopeful that there is room within the state funding model for our community to celebrate/recognize/preserve our history while maintaining the safety of our roadways.”

Contact Reporter Matthew N. Wells at matthew.wells@thedailyworld.com.

One of the hundreds of personal messages to the late Kurt Cobain and Nirvana, which resides under the Young Street Bridge. The city of Aberdeen recently received $25 million from the state in order to replace the 67-year-old bridge. While the bridge’s age isn’t the driving factor for its future replacement, its condition is.

One of the hundreds of personal messages to the late Kurt Cobain and Nirvana, which resides under the Young Street Bridge. The city of Aberdeen recently received $25 million from the state in order to replace the 67-year-old bridge. While the bridge’s age isn’t the driving factor for its future replacement, its condition is.

”Something in the Way,” is a Nirvana song about the Young Street Bridge in North Aberdeen. The underside of the bridge, a hangout for the late-Kurt Cobain and now his fans, is home to fan written graffiti that pays homage to Cobain and Nirvana, the Grunge rock band he founded. The bridge is anticipated to be replaced in the next few years because of its condition. Fans in town have expressed their negative feelings toward the bridge being replaced instead of rehabilitated.

”Something in the Way,” is a Nirvana song about the Young Street Bridge in North Aberdeen. The underside of the bridge, a hangout for the late-Kurt Cobain and now his fans, is home to fan written graffiti that pays homage to Cobain and Nirvana, the Grunge rock band he founded. The bridge is anticipated to be replaced in the next few years because of its condition. Fans in town have expressed their negative feelings toward the bridge being replaced instead of rehabilitated.