A lahar evacuation bridge in the works for decades is being built in Pierce County
Marianne Smith is known as the “bridge mother” to many because of what she and other community members in Orting called attention to years ago — the need for pedestrian bridges.
Smith spent 25 years of her teaching career with second graders in the Orting School District. Her husband taught in the middle school, and her children attended the schools there, too. Around the late 1990s was when she heard the city was a “volcanic hazard.”
“It was not just of scientific interest — it was my family on the valley floor,” Smith said. “I wanted to do something about it.”
Smith is one of the founders of Bridge for Kids, a nonprofit organization that has the goal of building a pair of bridges in the city of Orting. The bridges would play a role in the city’s evacuation route if a major lahar or flooding event was to occur.
Orting is about 20 miles east of Tacoma. It has a population of about 8,000 and is sandwiched between the Puyallup and Carbon rivers. The city is a little over 60 miles from Mount Rainier.
After B4K was created in 2001, the city eventually joined the organization’s efforts, City Councilmember Scott Drennen said. Construction on the first bridge is expected to start in 2022.
The first bridge will start from the Foothills Trail and end near Rocky Road Northeast. It will hover over state Route 162, just above where a painted crosswalk currently stands. The city hopes to complete the bridge by 2023, Drennen said.
The city is anticipating somewhere along the lines of an $8 million price tag on the first bridge, Drennen said. Funding for the bridge will come from a blend of grants and donations, including a $6 million grant from the Washington State Department of Transportation. Additional funding is expected from federal grants.
The current evacuation route requires residents to head toward the southwest area of Orting and meet at the rock quarry near the Washington State Soldiers Home, Drennen said. The first bridge would help residents living east of SR 162 get to the route quicker.
In addition to lahar and flood evacuation purposes, the first bridge will help children and community members cross SR 162 safely, Drennen said. Currently, there is a painted crosswalk, sign and flashing lights on the highway.
“We’ve had a number of near-misses, not to mention that it’s extremely congested,” Drennen said.
Plans for the second bridge have yet to be finalized. It would start at the end of Rocky Road Northeast, hover above the Carbon River and reach Tehaleh. Although the first bridge will help in the meantime, the second bridge is what will get people to higher ground, Drennen said.
The original estimated cost for the second bridge was $27 million, but it may be higher due to the COVID-19 pandemic driving up construction costs, Drennen said.
Although Smith no longer lives on the valley floor of Orting, she is still near the area. Knowing that construction on the first bridge is expected to start next year is “very gratifying,” she said. “I love it.”
