100 letters, 48 hours: Pierce County towns fight for access after bridge closure
When Wilkeson town clerk Marie Wellock sent out an email on April 30, she had no idea that it would be the beginning of something big.
Wellock's email was a race to beat the clock. The goal? Write as many letters as possible to U.S. Rep. Kim Schrier, (Democrat, WA-8) about the closure of the Carbon River Fairfax Bridge.
Dave Morell, who represents District 1 on the Pierce County Council, was going to go to Washington D.C. to meet with Schrier later that week. One of his staff members reached out to Wellock and told her that Morell wanted letters to give to Schrier.
'They said he would like some letters drafted that he could hand deliver to her regarding the bridge and the access,' Wellock said in a recent interview. 'I immediately put together an email and sent it to all of the businesses here in Wilkeson and Carbonado as well as the people in the Carbon Canyon, just letting them know that this opportunity presented itself and that we should get as many letters as possible for him to hand deliver to D.C.'
Just 48 hours later on May 2, Morell had over 100 letters to give to Schrier.
The Washington State Department of Transportation closed the State Route 165 Carbon River Fairfax Bridge on April 22 due to safety concerns. The 103-year-old, single-lane bridge is the only way for vehicles to access key areas of Mount Rainier National Park, such as the Carbon River Ranger Station, Mowich Lake, Spray Park, the Carbon Glacier Trail and Tolmie Peak.
While there is a 9-mile detour for law enforcement and local property owners, WSDOT has said it is not open to the public.
Since then, Wilkeson and Carbonado have grappled with how to move forward. Businesses in Wilkeson previously told The News Tribune they are struggling to stay afloat without the tourist traffic from people visiting Mount Rainier in the summer.
'We know that we're a small area,' Wellock said. '[It] really pushed a lot of travelers this direction — not only our tourism, but just so people can see this northwest corner of the mountain and Wilkeson is the only way to get there.'
In an interview with The News Tribune, Morell said residents who live in the Carbon Canyon have struggled since WSDOT closed the bridge.
'Most of them are an older population — a very hearty population, but they are an older population,' Morell said. 'So concern was response times, because now you have to go through two gates and a gravel road, so there are definitely concerns about if they call 911.'
Wellock and Morell both told The News Tribune that the goal of the letter-writing campaign was to get federal eyes on this issue.
'We have thousands of acres of public lands that people can't access that we don't want to be forgotten,' Wellock said. 'If access is never restored, a regular person loses the ability to go to this section of the park … that's not the intent of public land. The intent of public land is to be open and accessible for all.'
After Wellock sent out her initial email requesting letters, Friends of the Carbon Canyon posted about the campaign on their Facebook page. The post got 334 shares.
'WE KNOW that the Fairfax Bridge will NOT be repaired or replaced, BUT it is VITAL that access to the Carbon Canyon remains through the Carbon River Corridor, continuing to support the Towns of Burnett, Wilkeson & Carbonado,' the post said.
Wellock also crafted templates for people who just wanted to sign their names and addresses.
Children from Wilkeson Elementary chipped in by drawing pictures of the bridge. Some of the pictures had short notes attached.
'[There's] a lot of history up in that area and a lot of these folks that live in Carbonado and Wilkeson have lived there multi-generations,' Morell said. 'And so their great-grandkids are going to Wilkeson Elementary and they know the stories.'
Morell told The News Tribune that when he arrived in Washington D.C. later that week to talk to Schrier, he had all 100 letters in tow.
'There was someone, actually, who wrote a letter on the back of a napkin, so she had to read that one,' Morell said. 'But she just got the biggest smile on her face, [that] the community would rally together that quickly and send those letters.'
The News Tribune reached out to Schrier's D.C., Issaquah and Wenatchee offices but did not get a response before deadline.
Morell said his conversation with Schrier was a step forward, especially when it comes to helping businesses impacted by the closure.
'We talked about maybe getting some grants from the Department of Commerce,' Morell said. 'It would give them much-needed relief. There's a lot of grants that are available to help struggling small companies that need help, especially in an emergency situation like this.'
Wellock said the community would continue to fight to get access restored.
'We want to keep the heat on them to either help WSDOT come up with the money [or] encourage the parks or the Forest Service to work with local agencies to maintain some level of access to these public lands,' Wellock said.
WSDOT previously told The News Tribune it is considering three options now that the bridge is closed:
Keeping the bridge closed and not replacing it.
Building a replacement bridge in the same area.
Re-routing State Route 165 to the east or west of Carbon River Canyon.
The agency also told The News Tribune it is in the process of scheduling an in-person open house for the public, tentatively scheduled for early June. WSDOT is aiming to have an online open house go live shortly after Memorial Day. On WSDOT's website, there is a page for the planning study that will help the agency examine its options. The website said the study is being paid for by $1.5 million in state funding.
'[This campaign] was a call of action to do something,' Wellock said. 'We can't just let this go. We're certainly not going to go quietly.'
The News Tribune archives contributed to this report.
In the Spotlight is a News Tribune series that digs into the high-profile local issues that readers care most about. Story idea? Email newstips@thenewstribune.com.
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