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Replacement of old bridge in Cascade progresses

The replacement of the North Fork Payette River Bridge in downtown Cascade is well under way. It’s a bit too snowy in this photo, taken Dec. 17, to really see the extent of the work – but believe us – it is slated to finish in late fall 2013.

The old, narrow, width-restricted bridge built in 1933 will be replaced with one more than twice as wide. The existing bridge is 24 feet wide, and will be replaced with a 60-foot wide, 393-foot long, three-span bridge. The new bridge will have two 12-foot lanes, two 11-foot shoulders and a 14-foot median.

In addition, a paved extension will be built to the dirt shared-use path under the bridge on the north side of the river that provides access from both sides of the bridge to the new riverside park.

In the first stage, two-thirds of the new bridge will be built to the west of the existing structure. Traffic will be maintained on the existing bridge through this first stage of bridge work, and then will be routed to the new section of bridge for the remaining work as the old bridge is demolished.

The project was shut down for the holidays for the last few weeks, but work ramped up again on Wednesday.

Wadsworth Brothers Construction Co. Inc., of Draper, Utah, is the contractor on this $4.83 million project, which also included several miles of roadwork this summer.