Long effort to build a lahar bridge in Orting makes progress

Barbara Bauml began working on a pedestrian bridge to help Orting schoolchildren escape a volcanic mudflow from Mount Rainier when her daughter was in third grade.

Her daughter is a high school graduate now.

And the bridge still isn’t done. In fact, it’s likely years – and millions of dollars – away.

But Bauml and others behind the “Bridge for Kids” project have reached a milestone in their 10-year effort to build a system to evacuate pedestrians endangered by a lahar.

They have a design concept nailed down and will unveil drawings at an open house this week.

“We went from being a wild idea to a viable public safety plan,” Bauml said. “We’ve gotten it this far, and I’m so proud of what we’ve done. But we still have a ways to go.”

Her group’s plan now calls for a pair of bridges to help get students and others out of harm’s way in the roughly 40 minutes it would take a lahar to sweep down to the city. Relying on vehicles isn’t a good option because the streets likely would be clogged, they say.

“Your intuition says, ‘let’s get on the highway and go,’” said Chuck Morrison, president of the group. “But we have to think of a way as pedestrians to get off the valley floor.”

Orting schools today have an evacuation route that takes students over the Puyallup River, past the Washington Soldiers Home and Colony to a rock quarry on higher ground. The route stretches roughly two miles.

The Bridge for Kids route is shorter and faster; students would have to walk about a quarter-mile and could flee the valley floor in about 25 minutes.

A concrete bridge would span state Route 162, providing safe passage over the road, and a suspension bridge would stretch across the Carbon River to safety on a hillside.

Orting schools Superintendent Michelle Curry said her district practices evacuating at least once a year. By the time Orting students reach high school, they’re experts in where to go and what to do if a lahar hits, she said.

She said the district has been involved in planning and shares Bridge for Kids’ desire for a quicker option.

“We are living right by Mount Rainier,” she said. “We want to make sure our kids feel safe at school and are safe.”

The two bridges would be available not only to Orting students, but also other people living and working in the valley. And they could help residents get to higher ground in the event of other emergencies or disasters, such as floods, officials said.

“(The system would be) one of our most critical links for getting the valley evacuated in case of an emergency,” said City Councilman Scott Drennen. “With the population of the city, the growth, it’s so, so important to have.”

The East Pierce city’s population swelled nearly 80 percent between 2000 and 2010 to more than 6,700 residents.

The last major lahar from Rainier hit about 500 years ago. But, committee leaders said, the next one could hit anytime.

“(The mountain) seems to be our biggest asset,” Drennen said, “but it could also be our biggest liability.”

Bridge for Kids officials say they’re not sure how much it will cost to complete the two bridges, although a preliminary estimate puts the price tag at $45 million to $50 million – much more than the $12.7 million in a 2003 feasibility study.

The group doesn’t have a timeline for when the bridges could be built – if they will at all. State and federal funding sources, which paid for preliminary design and engineering work, have all but dried up amid revenue shortfalls and budget cuts.

Bauml hopes Bridge for Kids overcomes those challenges.

“We’re on the edge of Mount Rainier,” she said. “I hope we can get it done before it really needs to be there.”

Sara Schilling: 253-552-7058 sara.schilling@thenewstribune.com blog.thenewstribune.com/street

IF YOU GO

What: Open house to show designs of the proposed Orting pedestrian evacuation bridge system.

When: 6-8:30 p.m. Thursday.

Where: Orting Middle School, 111 Whitehawk Blvd. N.W.