Design funding to restore Johnson Creek trestle moves forward

Published 1:30 am Thursday, July 23, 2026

Funding to design the restoration of Johnson Creek Bridge west of Whitefeather Way in Sequim and along the Olympic Discovery Trail appears to be moving forward after a few years in limbo.

Sequim city councilors agreed on July 13 through their Consent Agenda to have City Manager Matt Huish enter into a local agency agreement with the Washington Department of Transportation for a Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Equity program (RAISE) grant worth $400,000.

The city will not have to pay any matching funds to the grant in this phase, staff said.

The approximate 410-foot-long and 85-foot-tall timber railroad trestle was retired and later refurbished and then reopened in 2003 to pedestrians along the ODT.

According to the City of Sequim’s grant application, the bridge is made up of 28 bents each with five to six timber piles and timber cross bracing, girders, railroad ties, and trail decking.

Nicholas Dostie, Sequim’s city engineer/deputy director of Public Works, said Sequim hasn’t chosen a design consultant yet, but city staff have submitted the Request for Qualifications scope to WSDOT Local Programs for review.

He said Sequim staffers anticipate advertising for engineering and design services by the end of 2026’s third quarter.

The project is included in the city’s Capital Improvement Program, Dostie said, with design currently planned for completion in 2027 and construction dependent on securing construction funding.

Its construction costs at the “current high-level planning estimate” will be about $1.6 million, he said.

“Once WSDOT approves the RFQ, the city will advertise for a design firm and establish a more detailed design schedule,” Dostie said.

City council’s approval of the design won’t be required.

According to city documents, the City of Sequim contracted with Sargent Engineers and Fickett Structural Solutions in 2022 to conduct a structural analysis of Johnson Creek Bridge.

“The project was delayed while the Federal Highway Administration worked through updated grant terms and conditions, during which grant funds could not be spent,” Dostie said. “That issue has since been resolved, and the city has received approval to proceed under the original terms, allowing the RAISE grant project components to move forward.”

In 2023, the City of Sequim and 11 other entities were awarded a RAISE grant to connect gaps and improve safety along the ODT from Bainbridge Island to La Push. Sequim city councilors originally authorized the RAISE grant in August 2024.

The pedestrian bridge hovers over Johnson Creek and near U.S. Highway 101’s creek bridge that was part of a fish passage project in the area. That fish passage project to improve fish habitat/passage was completed in August 2025 featuring a new 185-foot bridge over Johnson Creek.