[All-Gorge] 🛑 Bridge Test Piles Halted by Insurance Gap - HRWSBA May 27 & June 8

In this episode of Open Gorge, we break down the Hood River-White Salmon Bridge Authority meetings from May 27th and June 8th. The Authority locked in a nearly 67-million-dollar operating budget for the coming year, but a critical test pile program is facing delays due to a complex liability insurance gap.

In This Episode:

• Navigating the insurance gap for Kiewit Construction's upcoming test pile program.
• A bureaucratic standoff with the National Park Service over federal land mitigation at Marina Park.
• Funding strategies while waiting for massive federal grant announcements.
• Updates on the Umatilla Tribe Memorandum of Agreement.

Resources & Links:

• Read the full written Dispatch at skamaniadispatch.com.
• View meeting agendas and past minutes at hoodriverbridge.org.

Documenter notes are available for republishing under Creative Commons license CC by 4.0. With thanks to Columbia Gorge Documenters, powered by Uplift Local: https://upliftlocal.news/columbia-gorge/columbia-gorge-documenters/

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Transcript

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Hey everyone, thanks for tuning in for this all-gorge update. Today we're looking at the Hood River White Salmon Bridge Authority meetings from May 27th and June 8th. We've got a lot of ground to cover, from massive budget approval to a frustrating bureaucratic standoff over Marina Park. Let's start with the big numbers. On June 8th, the Authority unanimously locked in its budget for the coming fiscal year, adopting a nearly $67 million spending plan. A big piece of that puzzle is supporting federal congressionally directed spending from the larger infra grant. Getting those funds flowing early is crucial because it gives the Authority the cash it needs to start buying up right-of-way properties while they wait for the major federal bridge grants to drop this September. Turning now to construction, there's a significant hurdle threatening to inflate the cost of the bridge. The contractor Kewit wants to run a test pile program in the river by October 2027. Basically, they need to drive a few steel piles into the riverbed now to see if the vibrations damage the fragile, 100-year-old bridge next to it. Sounds pretty important as somebody who drives over it several times a week. Project director Michael Shannon explained that catching structural problems early during a test phase will save millions, compared to finding out that there's a problem when full construction is underway. That sounds pretty sensible, right? But here's the catch. Kiwit doesn't have the legal protections they need to cover potential damages to the old bridge during the test. Unlike the port of Hood River, which enjoys state caps on liability payouts, the bridge authority and its contractors are completely exposed. If they can't convince the port to bring the test pile program under its own insurance umbrella, Kiwit will have to dramatically inflate its contract price just to cover that financial risk. Sounds like a huge issue that will need resolving, especially because safety for the current bridge is something that I know is on everyone's mind. Next up, let's talk about the standoff at Marina Park. Over the last few episodes, we've covered this conflict and it's a very interesting piece of federal law. The Authority is currently battling with the National Park Service over strict federal conservation rules. Because Marina Park was built using federal funds, any land that gets converted for the bridge has to be replaced with new park land of equal value. The authority argues that the new bridge is a recreational asset itself, with its 12-foot pedestrian path, and that demolishing old port buildings actually would improve the park. But if the feds refuse to budge, the authority will have to spend up to $3.4 million buying replacement land, and I found out that this actually has to be replacement land on the same side, on the Oregon side of the bridge, pulling critical funds away from the bridge project entirely. I know there's been concerns that any parklands that would be purchased actually would be too far outside of the gorge to benefit the population losing the initial land in the first place. So, Alternate Commissioner Catherine Thomas urged caution in how they handled the federal agencies, calling it a quote, poke the bear, unquote, situation. Finally, a quick update on tribal coordination. The Federal Highway Administration is hitting pause on signing a memorandum of agreement with the Umatilla tribe. It's a strategic delay, making sure all environmental evaluations for cultural resources are perfectly documented before anyone signs on the dotted line. It's a clear sign that the Authority wants these agreements to be legally bulletproof from day one. Looking ahead, Kiwit is targeting July or August to deliver their 60% design plan. The authorities' next meeting is June 22nd from 2 to 4 p.m., both online and at their White Salmon office. Before we wrap, just wanted to give a quick shout out to Columbia Gorge documenter Kathy Omer. The discussions around liability insurance this week were incredibly dense, and Kathy's meticulous meeting notes were a huge help in untangling the facts for today's episode. You've been listening to a production of opengorge.org, home of the Scamania Dispatch and the Click of Taddler. We believe that informed communities are stronger communities. To support our work and stay up to date on everything happening in the Gorge, head over to Schemania Dispatch.com to sign up for our newsletters. You can also find us on Facebook at Facebook.comslash opengorge. Join the conversation and share your thoughts on today's episode. Thanks for tuning in, and we'll talk to you next time.