In the past, she said sports bubbles were thought to be luxuries. UJ President Polly Peterson said the bubble is “critical” with the snow being on the ground longer the past several years. He said the soccer teams will continue to play at Charlotte and Gordon Hansen Stadium when the weather is good. “It’s really going to be a facility that will touch all students on campus throughout the year,” he said. From an academic standpoint, he said the kinesiology, exercise science and physical education students will also be able to use the facility, and student clubs and intramural programs will be able to host events or activities there as well. Jensen said the football, track and field, baseball, softball, soccer and golf teams will be able to practice in the bubble as well. “From a softball standpoint, we will be able to host games very similar to what our team did when they went down to Presentation College (South Dakota) and play in the bubble down there.” “We can see come November time frame, soccer matches, when the weather is really bad outside, we just move it into the bubble and play it inside and have a great place to play,” he said. The soccer and softball teams will play competitive games in the bubble at different times during their seasons pending weather and conditions. Last to speak was Foothills Rails to Trails Executive Director Miles it was the nonprofit which first advocated for the creation of a intercommunity trail along an abandoned Pierce County railroad in 1984.Īnd while connecting King and Pierce County is all well and good, she said, the bridge also represents a larger dream – “a critical link in the vision for a cross-state trail from the Idaho border to the Pacific Ocean.Jensen said the bubble will serve UJ’s student population and student-athletes.
“We are very low on the priority, and I doubt very much that we will get a new car bridge within the next 10 years.”īut on a lighter note, she said that she expects the trail to be used by commuters that need to cross the bridge, which won’t solve the traffic issue, but could alleviate some pressure. We are not a highway that is open year-round,” she said. “One of the biggest obstacles we have for getting a new bridge for cars is the fact that we are not a major highway. He passed the mic to former Mayor Johnson, who addressed what has been a common complaint, at least online – why King and Pierce County focused on a pedestrian bridge on a trail, rather than working toward upgrading the vehicle bridge over the river to reduce congestion. “Forty-plus years later, here we are, starting the new bridge,” he said. “The link between these communities is a… link between life and death,” Reynolds continued.īuckley Mayor Burkett talked about the history of White River connectivity, and how there used to be a trestle over the bridge until it was taken down in 1982 in large part because young adults drove over the structure as a “right of passage”. Though the bridge could technically be used by first responders, construction crews would have first had to move their equipment out of the way, slowing down emergency response and transportation. The bridge was closed for a week in April for emergency repairs, and then again in April 2016 for permanent repairs.
“Remember when the White River bridge got closed, and everybody had to drive around?” Reynolds asked, referring to a 2015 incident where the bridge was damaged (likely by an overheight freight truck) to the point it was unsafe for vehicles to use. She also stressed how important the bridge is on a practical level for first responders.
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