WENATCHEE – The cities of Wenatchee and East Wenatchee reached an agreement this week to build a pedestrian bridge over the Sunset Highway to make it easier for users of the Apple Capital Loop Trail.
The planned overpass will allow pedestrians and cyclists to access the 20-mile riverfront trail system from the Valley Mall Parkway in East Wenatchee without having to wait to cross Highway 28. The $17 million project is funded by the federal Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant program.
The designs show the planned pedestrian and bicycle bridge that will connect the Valley Mall Parkway to the Apple Capital Loop trail system.
The intermunicipal agreement between the two cities, approved by the Wenatchee City Council on Thursday and by East Wenatchee last week, gives Wenatchee management of the project but transfers ownership of the bridge to East Wenatchee upon its completion.
The existing traffic signal pedestrian crossing on Sunset Highway at Ninth Street Northeast would be removed in favor of an overpass that would begin at Valley Mall and Ninth and end at the trailhead near the WT Clark pipeline Bridge. Both ends would have ramp and stair access.
Construction is scheduled to begin in spring 2025 and take more than a year, according to city planning documents.
