Bids will be collected for four weeks, and then it will take port officials a few more weeks to sort through the bids and award the project. Once that is done, the contractor will have some flexibility on when construction starts to make it the most efficient use of time, Grening said, adding he expects construction to still take somewhere in that 18-month range.
Once the overpass is built, visitors won’t have to cross train tracks to get to the waterfront; they’ll drive over them. It will also connect the heart of downtown Ridgefield to the waterfront.
With the overpass, the port will close a crossing on Mill Street and gate off the crossing on Division Street. That crossing will be left for emergency use in case there’s a blockage or issue on the overpass, and emergency responders need to get into or out of the waterfront area, Grening said.
The overpass project is a big step for the port as port leaders work toward waterfront redevelopment. The area was formerly home to Pacific Wood Treating, a company that pressure-treated telephone poles and railroad ties with chemical agents. The plant closed in 1993, leaving the soil tainted by chemicals. The port spent nearly $73 million to clean up the site. Earlier this year, City Manager Steve Stuart estimated the site could bring in an estimated $200 million to $300 million in private investment money.
“(The overpass) clears the path for redevelopment, because all of a sudden, downtown Ridgefield and the waterfront are directly connected,” Grening said. “One of the tougher pieces of development down here is the Mill Street Crossing, because trains sometimes block the crossings and cause delays. They can range from a few minutes to a few hours. From a business point of view, it’s not convenient to be stuck someplace. This deals with one of the major issues.”
