Claudia Bingham Baker, communications, 360-357-2789

PUYALLUP - The Washington State Department of Transportation is issuing a Request for Proposals to identify a new owner to relocate and reuse the 1925 State Route 167 Puyallup River/Meridian Street Bridge.

After more than eight decades of service, WSDOT decommissioned and replaced the bridge in 2015 because it had reached the end of its useful life. The 371-foot-long steel truss has been relocated onto state right of way in Puyallup while WSDOT identifies a new home and owner for the longest riveted steel Warren through-truss span built prior to 1940 in the Washington state highway system.

Those submitting proposals should be prepared to:

• Prepare and submit a proposal following the RFP instructions using the WEBS link. Proposals are due by 4 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 9.
• Maintain the bridge and the features that give it historical significance.
• Assume all future legal and financial responsibility for the structure.
• Remove the structure from state right of way by June 30, 2019.

The person or entity selected to take ownership of the bridge will receive up to $1 million from WSDOT to relocate and reuse the bridge as defined in a transfer agreement.

“We are eager to review proposals and hopefully find a new owner who appreciates the historical significance of the bridge and preserves it for the public to enjoy for years to come,” said WSDOT Historical and Cultural Resource Specialist Stephen Austin.

Additional information about the bridge, including its current condition, history and inspection reports, is available online. Proposers with additional questions may contact Steve Fuchs at FuchsS@wsdot.wa.gov.

If no one meets the specified conditions, the bridge will be demolished as part of the SR 167 Completion Project construction.