The city of Aberdeen is taking a “serious” look at alternatives for the 67-year-old Young Street Bridge based on feedback staff has received from the public, according to Ruth Clemens, Aberdeen’s city administrator.

What’s the next step for the project, which has drawn considerable attention because of the bridge’s connection to Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain and for what many people in Aberdeen and outside Aberdeen see as a tourist destination and cultural magnet in Grays Harbor?

The North Aberdeen neighborhood residents who live near the Young Street Bridge — officially the North Aberdeen Bridge — can “expect to see on-site investigation work,” through the next couple months, according to a city of Aberdeen news release. Some of the work includes “utility locates, surveying, soil analysis, river modeling” and other tasks. One part of the work is happening next week, according to the release. What does this mean for traffic in the area?

“Residents can expect lane closures on Young Street around the North Aberdeen Bridge (Monday) Nov. 13 through (Thursday) Nov. 16 for some of this investigatory work,” the release states. “Minor delays can be expected as all vehicle traffic will be diverted into one lane controlled by traffic control flaggers.”

The city hired a consulting team in September to lead the project’s design. The first stage of the project includes looking at several design alternatives.

“(The) design alternatives include options to replace the bridge in its current vicinity, repair the existing bridge and construct a new bridge in a different location,” the release states. “These preliminary alternatives will be brought to the public for comment and community engagement through a series of public open houses. Dates and times for these events will be determined at a later date.”

That said, the Kurt Cobain Memorial Park should not be affected in case of any work done to the bridge.

The city is in the position to act because of a $25 million grant it received from Washington State Joint Transportation Committee for the bridge’s replacement. Replacement for the bridge, which has been deemed “deficient” by county and state safety tests, has an estimated cost of $23.2 million.

Clemens explains bridge work timing

“It’s important to note that the city can no longer delay the work that has to be done to the bridge to ensure its safe use,” Clemens said Thursday. “We understand the historic significance of the bridge and public safety is our top priority. We are hoping to strike a solution that satisfies both.”

Back in March when the city held a public discussion about the bridge, Rick Sangder, Aberdeen’s public works director, provided an engineering approach to explaining why something needs to be done about the bridge, which serves about 2,000 vehicles per day, plus emergency vehicles. Sangder said the bridge has had load restrictions for more than 15 years. He said the load restrictions are to try and stop larger trucks — dump, garbage and timber trucks — from crossing the bridge. In 2018, the city-owned bridge received a sufficiency rating of 31.

“Anything under a 40 is actually on the bridge list to be replaced,” Sangder said. “In 2018, we had a 31 when we did load ratings. Then in 2019, based on those load ratings, we came back with a sufficiency rating of 7.”

A bridge’s sufficiency rating includes four elements — load, piers, shear and scour. And according to Sangder, the Young Street Bridge is deficient in all four of those elements. The inspections are done by the county and state.

According to Sangder, replacing the bridge is the most “cost-effective” route. While there’s still time to decide on what to do, the money has to be “obligated” for construction before 2027, according to what Nick Bird, city engineer, had to say about the timing back in March.

“We do have a little bit of time, but you have to remember a structure like this takes a couple of years to get through the design and permitting process,” Bird said. “We have to complete the design and to be fully permitted and to have all the (other things) squared away. Roughly three-and-a-half to four years for the bridge to be covered 100%. If we do not hit that timeline, only 86.5% of the total expenses will be covered. So there’s a little bit of risk right off the top there.”

And while there’s “very low” risk right now that the bridge would collapse as either a pedestrian bridge, or in its current form serving motor vehicles of all types, the load restrictions present a problem. Those dump, garbage and logging trucks are too heavy to cross, yet people driving those trucks cross the bridge anyway.

“The problem is we’re not always out there watching,” Sangder said. “Anybody who lives in that neighborhood knows that they take big trucks across there that shouldn’t cross there.”

If the bridge has to be replaced

During the public discussion in March, city staff and city council provided a few ideas to memorialize the bridge. One councilor suggested renaming Young Street to Kurt Cobain Boulevard. Another councilor wanted to save the beam underneath the bridge that says “In Memoriam: From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah.” Aberdeen Mayor Pete Schave was a fan of saving the beam.

“It’s kind of what I was thinking,” Schave said. “The bridge is going to have to be dismantled if it’s going to be replaced. As they dismantle it, extra care could be taken.”

While Schave’s term as mayor will end soon, he made it known in March he wanted to work together to respectfully preserve the bridge’s underside. People still graffiti the underside with messages to Cobain, the band, and their own personal notes. The graffiti on the bridge’s underside draws tourists to Grays Harbor County, according to several sources in town.

For now, area residents and others traveling on Young Street should keep their eyes peeled.

“We appreciate your continued patience as we work to improve the city’s infrastructure,” the release states. “For your safety, please stay alert as you travel across the bridge and through the nearby neighborhoods, watch for lane-channelization changes and obey all construction signs and flagging personnel.”

For any questions or comments about the project, call Nick Bird, city engineer, at 360-537-3218, or email nbird@aberdeenwa.gov.

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

Matthew N. Wells / The Daily World While much of the graffiti underneath the Young Street Bridge has been photographed, this “Where did you sleep last night,” graffiti tag on the bridge’s railing points to another part of Nirvana’s history. The band covered the Lead Belly’s song in 1994 during Nirvana’s famous “Unplugged” session in New York. One old rumor is that Cobain once slept underneath the Young Street Bridge.

Matthew N. Wells / The Daily World A friendly Gladys Way resident in North Aberdeen allowed this picture to be taken of the often photographed Young Street Bridge from her backyard — which sits on the the edge of the muddy banks of the Wishkah. The view allows for a different angle of the bridge, which could come down in the next few years.