From here to there in style

A new pedestrian bridge spanning Interstate 90 in Liberty Lake has opened up a world of recreational opportunities.

The $1.5 million bridge not only links the city with the Centennial Trail, but it also provides bicyclists from throughout the region with easy access to Liberty Lake’s restaurants, parks and citywide trail system.

“This is wonderful. I’ll go this way more often now that this bridge is done,” said Neil Kempen.

On Thursday, the 54-year-old Gonzaga Prep teacher bicycled from northeast Spokane to Liberty Lake on the Centennial Trail and crossed the bridge to get a bite to eat in the city.

Before the bridge, Kempen and other cyclists clung to a narrow shoulder to get across the four-lane Harvard Road overpass – a nerve-wracking hazard.

“You were kind of taking your life into your own hands and you’d say a prayer before you crossed over it,” Kempen said.

Kevin Schultz, a 43-year-old competitive cyclist from Greenacres, rode over after reading that the bridge was open. Sitting atop the bridge, he said he was thrilled to have an alternative to dodging cars and semi trucks.

“I thought, ‘I’ve got to go to see the bridge.’ I’m anxious to see how it connects down here,” Schultz said.

The freestanding concrete bridge had been planned for nearly six years. Located just west of the Harvard Road freeway overpass, it provides safer access to the Centennial Trail, which is a half-mile north.

Pedestrians use signaled crosswalks to get across a freeway exit on the south side. On the north end, a marked crosswalk leads over the entrance to a less busy freeway onramp.

Nonetheless, bridge users say those challenges prove minor compared to the duck-and-dodge maneuvers previously required to navigate the overpass.

Although community support for the bridge was widespread, the project nearly died when building costs exceeded funding.

In the end, a citizen-approved tax district, the Washington state Department of Transportation and Liberty Lake officials rallied to find additional funding and make the bridge a reality.

“It’s been a lot of work at times,” said Tom Specht, a Liberty Lake resident who has been involved with the project since its inception.

“It’s a little unbelievable because I was never sure the bridge was going to be built,” Specht said.

The city celebrated the bridge’s grand opening on the Fourth of July with a ribbon-cutting that was attended by an estimated 500 people. Specht, facilities manager for Isothermal Systems Research, said some friends are riding their bicycles to work now that they don’t have to cross the dangerous road.

Although the bridge was mostly completed, workers from Max J. Kuney Co. will be finishing minor details and cleaning up through next week.

“I’ve seen a few people on it today. What they need to do is get that big bike race to come across,” said Mike Critchfield, a 45-year-old construction worker who removed the last temporary brace.

Liberty Lake Mayor Steve Peterson said city officials have met with the area’s two hotels to talk about offering bicycle rentals for guests.

Landscaping will be added to both entrances in the future, Peterson said, to enhance the bridge’s aesthetics, which include unique, colored-mesh fencing and metal cutouts of trees.

“It’s gorgeous,” he said. “You get kind of a view. You can watch the traffic go by and have a latte.”