After a year of detours and daily grumbling, Everett is finally ready to roll traffic back over Edgewater Bridge, the $34 million replacement for the nearly 80-year-old span that has been closed since October 2024. City officials are planning a neighborhood party the week of April 27, and the bridge is expected to reopen to vehicles at the end of the workday on April 28. The aging 1946 structure, once narrow and seismically vulnerable, is being swapped for a wider bridge with full sidewalks, bike lanes and modern seismic protections.
According to the City of Everett, the city will host a community celebration on Monday, April 27 at 3:30 p.m., inviting neighbors to walk the new span and hear remarks from Everett and Mukilteo officials. In the city’s announcement, Mayor Cassie Franklin said she is excited to see the new bridge open and serving the community.
Delays, Detours And The Daily Drag
As reported by HeraldNet, the construction timeline did not exactly go as planned. Crews ran into unexpected subsurface obstructions, storm damage and equipment breakdowns, setbacks that pushed the project past its original schedule. Since the closure began in October 2024, roughly 6,000 vehicles a day have been rerouted, testing the patience of commuters, ferry riders and nearby residents alike.
What The New Bridge Brings
Crews placed the final girders and poured the bridge deck in recent months, a key milestone that moved work into the finishing phase, according to the Daily Journal of Commerce. The new structure is designed with 12-foot travel lanes in both directions, 6.5-foot sidewalks and 5-foot bike lanes to boost safety and mobility for people walking and biking, not just drivers eager to skip the detour.
Who Built It And How It Was Paid
As outlined in the Everett City Council agenda packet, the city awarded the construction contract to Granite Construction Company of Everett for $25,409,890.65 after a competitive bid process. The same document lists the programmed project budget at $34 million, with the majority of funding coming from federal grants and the remainder supplied through local matching dollars.
Detours, Park Work And What’s Next
During the closure, drivers were funneled along SR 525, SR 526 and Glenwood Avenue/Merrill Creek Parkway, a workaround that has become all too familiar over the past year. City officials have said crews will still be wrapping up paving, wiring and other finishing touches even after traffic returns to the bridge.
The project also used a portion of Edgewater Park for construction staging, and the city plans to follow the bridge work with park upgrades once construction is fully wrapped, according to City of Everett project materials.
Local coverage has closely watched the schedule and budget as crews pushed through the various setbacks. As first reported by Puget Sound Business Journal, the city and its contractor are now making the final push to restore this vital connection. If the current timetable holds, Mukilteo Boulevard will reopen at the end of April, and neighbors will get their first full look at the new bridge during the community celebration.
