Work has commenced on the downtown Pullman pedestrian bridge over the South Fork of the Palouse River. The Pine Street Plaza footbridge was affected by flooding in February, which resulted in it becoming dislodged from its abutments and subsequently closing the bridge.

The City of Pullman has initiated a three-phase project to repair the bridge. The plaza will remain closed at least until Thursday while city workers prepare for the bridge to be reset. This summer, the plaza will experience two additional closures to facilitate the resetting of the bridge and the completion of repairs, with each closure expected to last only a few days. City officials aim to reopen the bridge by late August, having secured all necessary federal, state, and local permits for the project.

During the upcoming city council meeting, officials are expected to hire a contractor for the bridge resetting. The footbridge was designed to float to the side of the river during high water events, and February’s flood marked the first instance of the South Fork reaching a level sufficient to float the bridge, which has been in place for 20 years.