A little more than a year after it began, the Arlington Avenue Bridges Project is complete. Starting June 9, the bridges and Wingfield Park will be open once again to the public.
The project cost about $30 million, which was actually under budget. The project was also completed in one year, versus the two it was projected for.
"We were able to, with our partners, complete this bridge within a year," said Bill Thomas, the Executive Director of the Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County. "And the reason we did that is because we created a sense of urgency with all of our staff members, with our contractor, and we said there's some major benefit to the community if we can save an extra year of disruption to the park and the river, because we know this is such an active area and the community enjoys it so much."
The process to replace the bridge began in 2019, with officials working with the community to conceptualize the end result. The original bridge was about 100 years old, and while it wasn't unsafe yet, it needed to be replaced before it reached that point.
"There are so many components to a bridge that age, like everything in life, the aging. So, the concrete, the steel, the siding, and the railing, everything was getting to the point where we needed to replace it before we got to the place where it was basically unsafe and we'd have to close the bridge down," said Thomas.
Officials repeated several times that the bridge helps stimulate the economy, but also helps connect the community.
To learn more about the project, visit this link: Home - Arlington Ave Bridges
