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Railroad Bridge’s truss replacement timeline dependent on funding

Published 8:30 am Thursday, March 19, 2026

By Matthew Nash

Photo by Michael Dashiell, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe/ Engineers with Fickett Structural Solutions inspect the Dungeness Railroad Bridge in late February and determined the bridge is safe for use while limiting heavy loads on the bridge. Tribal staff said a capital campaign has started to replace the bridge’s deteriorating truss.
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Photo by Michael Dashiell, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe/ Engineers with Fickett Structural Solutions inspect the Dungeness Railroad Bridge in late February and determined the bridge is safe for use while limiting heavy loads on the bridge. Tribal staff said a capital campaign has started to replace the bridge’s deteriorating truss.

Photo by Michael Dashiell, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe/ Engineers with Fickett Structural Solutions inspect the Dungeness Railroad Bridge in late February and determined the bridge is safe for use while limiting heavy loads on the bridge. Tribal staff said a capital campaign has started to replace the bridge’s deteriorating truss.
Photo by Michael Dashiell, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe/ Engineers with Fickett Structural Solutions inspect the Dungeness Railroad Bridge in late February and determined the bridge is safe for use while limiting heavy loads on the bridge. Tribal staff said a capital campaign has started to replace the bridge’s deteriorating truss.
Photo by Michael Dashiell, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe/ In January, the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe announced plans to replace the truss of the Dungeness Railroad Bridge due to its wood deteriorating.

Construction work to replace the Railroad Bridge’s truss is contingent on funding, according to the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe in a recent press release.

In mid-January, tribal officials announced the bridge’s wooden Howe Truss, next to the Dungeness River Nature Center at 1943 W. Hendrickson Road, was deteriorating and needed to be replaced after being in place for 100-plus years.

After the most recent inspection on Feb. 24 by engineers with Fickett Structural Solutions, they determined the bridge continues to deteriorate but remains safe for the public. However, they recommended limiting heavy loads on the bridge, which tribal officials said they have done since July posting signs prohibiting large gatherings and vehicle use on the bridge.

Jamestown’s Tribal Council and the Dungeness River Nature Center board of directors, and the Peninsula Trails Coalition agreed replacing the truss with a steel structure was the only viable path forward, staff said.

W. Ron Allen, Jamestown’s tribe chairman and CEO, said in January they “plan to honor the (bridge’s) historical symbolism with a new structure that reflects the current design and will keep park and trail users safe for our future generations.”

Using a steel structure, staff said, will minimize closures to the bridge that serves the Olympic Discovery Trail over the Dungeness River.

Tribal leaders have set a tentative goal to begin construction in the summer of 2027.

Michael Dashiell, Jamestown’s tribal communications and publications specialist, said construction of the new steel truss will be completed on site, and contractors will need water levels at their lowest for safety and environmental reasons, thus the summertime construction window.

He said part of the project will include disposal of the truss’ creosote-treated timbers.

In January, tribal staff said their engineer’s early estimate for the truss’ replacement will cost about $3.1 million.

A Railroad Bridge Replacement Capital Campaign was recently started, staff said, and the tribe and its partners have made a funding request to the state legislature for the project stressing its ties to the Olympic Discovery Trail and importance to the community and region.

More information is available at: dungenessrivercenter.org/railroad-bridge-howe-truss-replacement-project.

Donations can be made at dungenessrivercenter.org/donate/.

Railroad Bridge, part of the National Historic Register, saw train traffic from 1915-1985, and in 1993 the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe purchased it and the adjacent 75 acres.

Starting in 2015, the tribe replaced about 800 feet of the bridge’s western trestle and reopened it in 2016 after flooding damage. They also made various improvements to the eastern portion of the bridge in 2022 to complement the renovated nature center.

For more information about the Dungeness River Railroad Bridge, visit dungenessrivercenter.org.

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