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WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2013
Vol. CXXIV, No. 147
OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE CITY OF TACOMA Devoted to the Courts, Real Estate, Finance, Industrial Activities, and Publication of Legal Notices
Published Since 1890
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Historic McMillin Bridge A preservationist cautiously considers WSDOT decision
Posted online Fri., July 26 Article and File Photo By Todd Matthews, Editor Earlier this month, the Tacoma Daily Index was first to report the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) announced it would back off on its plan to demolish the historic McMillin Bridge in Pierce County as part of a larger plan to build a new bridge nearby (see "WSDOT halts plan to tear down historic McMillin Bridge," Tacoma Daily Index, July 18, 2013). The concrete bridge, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 and is owned by WSDOT, was built in 1934 and is part of State Route 162 that connects Orting to Sumner. WSDOT officials have said the bridge is functionally obsolete and a new bridge needs to be built. WSDOT planned to build a new bridge just east of the McMillin Bridge then tear down the historic bridge. The McMillin Bridge's inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places is only an honorary designation with little regulatory bearing other than what is known as "Section 106" of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. In the case of the McMillin Bridge, Section 106 requires that a federal agency consult with a range of stakeholders to determine if demolishing the bridge will have any adverse effects. Because the McMillin Bridge crosses a body of water, the Puyallup River, the lead federal agency in this case is the United States Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE). In the end, it's the Corps that was to decide whether to issue the permit allowing the new bridge to be built and the old bridge to come down. The ACOE was expected to make a decision later this year. "We request the Corps place this application on hold," wrote WSDOT Environmental and Hydraulic Manager Jeff Sawyer in a July 17, 2013 letter to the ACOE. "WSDOT intends to revise the project to eliminate demolition of the McMillin Bridge from the proposal. The McMillin Bridge will remain in place after traffic is relocated to the new structure. We will be working to prepare and resubmit a new application package as soon as possible." Historic preservationists throughout Washington State and beyond argued the bridge is historically significant because it was designed by Homer M. Hadley, whose work contributed to bridges spanning rivers, lakes and creeks throughout Washington State. Hadley pushed for the state to build a floating concrete bridge across Lake Washington. Today, the
"Without having more details and information about the Washington State Department of Transportation's (WSDOT's) project revisions, I cannot anticipate what lies ahead," says retired bridge engineer and historic preservationist Robert Krier. "I would feel more comfortable if WSDOT would issue a direct statement that the McMillin Bridge shall be preserved." westbound span of the Interstate 90 floating bridge is officially named the Homer M. Hadley Memorial Bridge. Last month, Pierce County Council voted to the add the bridge to its historic landmarks register. However, the county has declined offers from WSDOT to take ownership of the bridge and incorporate it into the nearby Foothills Trail, citing additional structural maintenance costs and liabilities. Perhaps no one has been more vocal about saving the McMillin Bridge than retired WSDOT engineer Robert Krier. Over the past three years, Krier has written more than two-dozen letters to WSDOT, Pierce County, the ACOE, the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, and local media arguing to save the bridge. It was Krier who nominated the bridge to the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation's most endangered list two years ago. In a letter published three years ago in The Olympian, Krier passionately argued for the bridge's preservation. "How would you feel about a public agency spending a half-million dollars to demolish the original portrait of Mona
Lisa and depositing her remains in a landfill?" Krier wrote. "That is what the Washington State Department of Transportation is planning to do with the McMillin Bridge." Krier, 78, graduated from the University of Washington in 1956 with a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering, went to work for WSDOT the following year, and retired 31 years later. Today he is an engineering consultant who works out of his Olympia home. In 2011, he earned the Special Achievement Award from the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation. The Index recently spoke with Krier about WSDOT's decision. TACOMA DAILY INDEX: What do you think of WSDOT's recent decision? ROBERT KRIER: Until I receive more details and a description of WSDOT's plans I do not feel I can provide an appropriate response. Five years ago, WSDOT executives, for unknown reasons, decided to include demolition, rather than preservation, of the McMillin Bridge with construction of the new bridge. Two years later, when WSDOT applied for a construction permit from the ACOE, they were required to comply with the Section 106 process because the construction included adverse affects on historic properties CONTINUED (demolition of the McMillin ON PAGE 2