The Sullivan Road Bridge replacement project is back on the front burner with new lower cost estimates and funding contingencies that make the project viable, after a vital part of the project funding was left out of the state transportation bill last May, says Carolbelle Branch, a spokeswoman for the city of Spokane Valley.

The Spokane Valley City Council learned last week that a new engineering estimate sliced more than $4 million from the original cost estimate, making the project budget fall within reach of available funding alternatives, Branch says.

The original cost estimate for the bridge, which carries Sullivan Road over the Spokane River, was $19.7 million, which was greater than the funds available without transportation-bill funding assistance, Branch says.

After a subsequent design phase was completed, though, revised engineering estimates put the cost at $15.4 million, which is more in line with the existing funding package.

Funding sources for the modified estimate include $8 million in federal funds, $5 million in other state funds, and $2.3 million from the city of Spokane Valley. The Washington state Transportation Improvement Board also committed up to $500,000 in contingency funds to cover unforeseen costs.

"It all fell into place like a big game of Tetris," Branch says.

She says the city hopes to put the project out to bid in January, and construction would begin in 2014.

The project has had support from the state legislative delegation for the city and has been a priority for the city since 2009 when an annual inspection rated the bridge as structurally deficient due to cracking in the girders and the deteriorating driving surface, Branch says.

The Spokane Valley City Council authorized temporary repairs in 2012, allowing the bridge to remain open until it could be replaced.

The bridge is part of a key transportation corridor, carrying 26,000 vehicles each day, including trucks hauling loads to and from the industrial area north of the bridge, Branch says.