This key bridge to Mount Rainier closed forever. Will WSDOT build a new one?
The Washington State Department of Transportation is now one step closer to deciding the fate of the state Route 165 Carbon River Fairfax Bridge.
WSDOT released its planning study on Thursday, outlining two options they are pursuing after permanently closing the bridge on April 22, 2025. These options include:
- Building a bridge replacement north of the bridge’s existing location.
- Tearing down the existing bridge and not building a new one.
These are two of the seven options WSDOT was considering when the agency first started its $1.5 million planning study. WSDOT does not currently have funding for any of the options; all of the agency’s estimated time frames would start from whenever officials are able to identify funding.
The 103-year-old, single-lane bridge is permanently closed because its steel supports were deteriorating, posing a safety risk. The bridge was the only way for the public to easily access popular areas of Mount Rainier National Park such as Mowich Lake, Spray Park, the Carbon Glacier Trail and Tolmie Peak.
Property owners on the other side of the bridge and business owners in nearby towns like Wilkeson and Carbonado previously spoke to The News Tribune about how the bridge closure has impacted them.
Building a replacement north of the existing location
The first of the two options involves tearing down the existing bridge and building a replacement north of its existing location. The exact location of the replacement bridge would be decided “after geotechnical and environmental fieldwork,” the study said.
According to the study, this option would cost about $160 million and take six years. There would be three phases:
- Phase 1: geotechnical investigations and survey; National Environmental Policy Act documentation; figuring out the new bridge’s type, size and location; and removing the existing bridge.
- Phase 2: Designing, engineering and permitting for the new bridge
- Phase 3: Construction
The study identified this replacement option as posing “the least geological risk,” noting that construction would be challenging “due to terrain and site constraints.”
This option would require half a mile of new roadway, including rock cuts.
Not building a replacement
This option, according to the study, would tear down the existing bridge and not build a new one – permanently closing state Route 165 south of Carbonado.
“Under this option, SR 165 would be terminated at Carbonado, and no alternative access route would be provided. The existing bridge would be removed through a controlled deconstruction process,” the study says. “This option would require compensation related to property access rights for landowners south of the bridge and would result in the loss of public access to lands managed by MRNP, USFS, and Pierce County.”
According to the study, this option would cost $70 million to $80 million, and take about three years. The study estimates it would cost about $46.6 million to compensate private landowners who would lose access to their property.
The News Tribune reached out to Cara Mitchell, spokesperson for WSDOT, and asked for more specifics about what compensation for property owners could look like. She said those details are still being ironed out.
“As part of the next steps to advance the no-build option for further evaluation, WSDOT would need to refine cost estimates related to property access rights and compensation and continue to assess long-term impacts to local communities, public land access, and regional connectivity,” the study said.
What other options did WSDOT dismiss?
Five of the seven initial options have been rejected. These are:
- Building a bridge replacement at the existing location
- Building a replacement south of the existing location
- Realigning state Route 165 and placing a new bridge near Carbonado.
- Realigning state Route 165 to connect with state Route 162 near Crocker.
- Realigning state Route 165 east of Wilkeson and Carbonado.
WSDOT said building a bridge replacement at the existing location would have cost about $175 million, while building a bridge replacement south of the existing location would have cost about $160 million.
The agency rejected building a bridge at the existing location because of difficult construction access.
“It would require removal of the existing bridge first,” the study says. “... The Carbon River Canyon site provides difficult construction access.”
The agency won’t pursue building a bridge south of the existing location, the study says, because it would require a lot of work in a geologically risky area.
“A new 650-foot bridge would be needed, as well as retaining walls and rock cuts for bridge approaches,” the study says.
The last three options – collectively called “the Bypass Alternatives” – all involved realigning state Route 165.
“These alternatives were dismissed due to being significantly more expensive and, in the case of Alternatives 6 and 7, isolate the communities of Carbonado or Wilkeson,” the study says.
All three of these bypass alternatives would have cost somewhere between $375 million to $785 million.
What did the public think?
WSDOT held an online open house from May 28 to June 17, asking for public feedback on its seven options. The agency also held two in-person open houses, one at the Carbonado School on June 2 and one at Wilkeson Elementary School on June 11.
In the study, WSDOT noted that the no-build option was almost universally dismissed, and most residents wanted to see a bridge replacement near the existing location.
“Key findings from 2,842 individual public comments showed strong community preference for options that replace the bridge on or near its current alignment … citing access, cost, and community impact,” the study said. “The no-build option … received the least support due to the loss of access to MRNP and economic impact on local businesses. Respondents also expressed frustration with the prolonged closure and lack of a public detour.”
The study also said that 40% of public responses “emphasized the urgency of restoring access, with many linking it directly to the economic survival of the region.”
In May, residents in Wilkeson and Carbonado sent over 100 letters to U.S. Rep Kim Schrier, urging for access to be restored.
What are the next steps?
The News Tribune asked Mitchell what the next steps in the process would be, and she said WSDOT is still deciding between the no-build option and building a bridge replacement north of the existing location.
“[We’re going into] preliminary engineering and environmental review this fall and we will see where that takes us,” Mitchell said. “We don’t have funding for construction – we’re using preservation funding to take us into next steps, into preliminary engineering and environmental review.”
When The News Tribune asked when in the fall this would happen, Mitchell said she doesn’t know yet.
Residents can look at the planning study at wsdot.wa.gov/construction-planning/search-studies/sr-165-carbon-river-fairfax-bridge-planning-study.
This story was originally published August 22, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
