The Washington state Department of Transportation is designing a replacement for the East Trent Avenue Bridge, which crosses the Spokane River just east of Hamilton Street in East Spokane. 

Al Gilson, Spokane-based spokesman for WDSOT, says the $20 million project likely will go out for bids in the fall of 2018, with construction starting in 2019. 

The bridge was constructed in 1910, and Gilson says, “Older bridges like these become difficult to repair after a certain point. It’s difficult to keep the roadway surface smooth because of the aging materials underneath, so the plan is to replace the bridge entirely.” 

Gilson says because the project is still in the design phase, no final design plan has been chosen, and various lane configurations are being considered. 

“There are several conceptual layouts right now, but those have no bearing on the final design,” says Gilson. 

Because the project will require the bridge to be closed for some time, the department also has begun to explore possible detour routes for traffic. 

Gilson says one possible detour route could be provided by the city’s planned Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard/Riverside Drive extension project, which is scheduled to be finished this fall. 

That project will extend MLK Jr. Boulevard/Riverside Drive east from where it intersects Spokane Falls Boulevard, beneath Highway 290, and follow the river northeast, eventually ending in a roundabout at the intersection of Perry Street and Trent Avenue.