New Woodland Creek Bridge nearly ready in Lacey

The City of Lacey’s Woodland Creek Bridge replacement project has reached its final construction phase and will soon reopen as a connector between Karen Fraser Woodland Trail and Woodland Creek Disc Golf Course. 

“The bridge is nearly complete, and we're excited about progress,” the City of Lacey Parks, Culture & Recreation Department announced in a Wednesday, Oct. 1, video release. 

The bridge is located in the south central part of Woodland Creek Community Parkt at 6729 Pacific Ave. SE. 

“The previous bridge was over 40 years old and was showing some signs of deterioration, and this bridge is a really important connection to the disc golf course, and also the nearby Karen Fraser Woodland Trail, which is an important community trail that’s very popular,” the City of Lacey said. 

The project replaces a 22-foot timber log stringer bridge with plywood decking that had functioned for more than four decades. It rested on a concrete ecology block foundation located inside the ordinary high-water mark of the stream. 

After engineers determined the bridge had deteriorated, the city dismantled it in 2024 and trail users were detoured through other parts of the park. 

“The bridge has safety railings, it is larger and stronger, and it also has fencing to help protect Woodland Creek,” said the City of Lacey of the new 25-foot long crossing.

The replacement is a prefabricated, fiber reinforced polymer truss bridge with heavy-duty dyna plank decking. Its foundation is made of precast concrete abutments reinforced with steel set into the creek bed to stabilize the crossing. 

Project records place the cost between $200,000 and $225,000 with the project covered under the City of Lacey’s capital improvement program. 

The project required permits for water quality, hydraulic project approval from the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife, and grading permits through city code compliance. 

The bridge replacement underwent environmental review under the state's Environmental Policy Act. The city also issued a Mitigated Determination of Nonsignificance that called for soil sampling to test for arsenic and lead before work began. 

“We just want to thank everybody for their patience during the closure,” the City of Lacey said in its Oct. 1 message. “We know that it’s had an impact, and we’re excited to share information about when people can come back and use the bridge.” 

Reopening details will be released on the city’s website and official Facebook page.