Just one month after celebrating the completion of Phase 2 of Yelm’s Prairie Line Trail, Yelm city councilors learned that Phase 2B, or renovations of the trestle bridge over the Nisqually River, will be completed by the end of 2025.
Yelm Public Works Director Cody Colt said during the July 9 City Council meeting that he’s hopeful to see the city hosting a ribbon-cutting ceremony around this time next year but offered a disclaimer that he’s “always over-optimistic” about project timelines.
“We’re shooting for the end of next year. By the end of 2025, this will be complete,” Colt said. “It’s nice that the bridge is already there, so we’re just refurbishing the bridge. But there’s a lot of ecological things we need to do, like preventing stuff from falling into the river. That’ll be the part that slows us down, on how much the Department of Health and Ecology are involved.”
Colt said the city received 30% of the design plans for the project on Sunday, July 7, but added the plan will be edited along the way. He told council members they will get another update in six months as Yelm Public Works receives 90% of the design plans and begins the construction phase.
“We’re at 30% plans now. We’re going to make it fancier and nicer, but this is just the base of what we can do,” Colt said. “The good news is we’re already coming in around $200,000 to $300,000 under budget. It is a grant, though, so if we do have money left over, we’re going to try to do even cooler things, maybe make patterns or displays, other things to make it even better because we want to use that grant money to make it as cool as possible.”
He said that a 5-foot fence will be built on both sides of the trestle bridge to ensure safety of bicyclists and equestrians using the trail. In addition to the new fencing, Colt said a 4-foot bump-out will be added to each side of the bridge for pedestrians to walk out onto. The trestle will also feature binoculars for hikers or horseback riders to enjoy the scenery.
“We want [the fence] low enough so people can see over it because it’s a view. People want to see the view,” Colt said. “[The bump-outs] can’t be in any other spot but these two. Even if you wanted to move them, you can’t. Structurally, this is the only spot we could be.”
Colt added that four placards will be added at different points of the reconstructed trestle bridge as well, including of the Nisqually River native fish, the history of the Nisqually River, the history of the Puget Sound and a dedication plaque to thank those involved in the Prairie Line Trail project.
Councilor Brian Hess, noting the spring and summertime activity and use of the river, jokingly asked Colt, if the project remains under budget, whether it would be possible to purchase water guns to post on the bridge for pedestrians to spray river floaters and swimmers.
“There will be some cool flare things that aren’t requirements but would be cool for people to see. One thing we did talk about was maybe having etchings in the fence,” Colt said. “There’s a couple different display fences where they have a salmon that’s cut into a fence. It’s like a viewpoint, but it also looks like an icon if you’re looking at it from far away. There’s some cool stuff we’re working on to spice it up.”
Hess also asked Colt emergency vehicles could use the bridge when necessary, but Colt said the city won’t know the weight limit on the structure until it is finished.
“We don’t assume that a fire truck could go down it because fire trucks are pretty heavy,” Colt said. “Maybe a smaller vehicle could pass on it, but I don’t know the weight ratings on it yet. The hope is that you could have a smaller vehicle drive on it, only in an emergency situation.”
With goals of extending the Prairie Line Trail into Roy and Pierce County, Councilor Joshua Crossman asked Colt if he knows where Pierce County stands on the buildout in Roy.
Colt told the council that Yelm Public Works and Pierce County officials meet quarterly, and they’re discussing possibly beginning construction of Roy’s buildout in either 2026 or 2027.
“They’re not sure. It’s about funding. Our goal is to get to Roy after this, so I’m shooting for ’27 being done with our section and having it all the way to Roy,” Colt said. “The hope is once we get done with this, we can create a trail somewhere along there that STP can jump on this bridge and go, before we even get to Roy. In two years, we’re hoping to get STPers onto [the bridge].”
