At Ninth Street and Valley Mall Parkway, near the Cedars Inn Motel, concrete is going up beside Sunset Highway. The City of Wenatchee's project update says many pier footings and columns are poured on the East Wenatchee side. The contractor is now working on the rest of the footings and columns, the staircase to the bridge, and the formwork for the ramp's concrete. When that ramp is done, it will take walkers and cyclists from the T.W. Clark Pipeline Bridge over Highway 28 and down to street level at that corner.
That ramp is the reason the Apple Capital Loop's south crossing is still closed this month. Construction started in April 2025, and the original plan, as NCWLIFE reported, was to reopen the bridge in November 2026. The City of Wenatchee's project page, last updated in September 2026, now says the loop is closed at the east and west access points and across the Clark Pipeline Bridge. It gives winter/spring of 2027 as the expected opening.
The longer wait comes with a bigger change. Once the bridge reopens, its East Wenatchee end will no longer stop at the river. It will connect to a street corner close to downtown.
A River Crossing Rebuilt to End Downtown
The project adds access bridges on both ends of the existing pipeline bridge to make the crossing safer for everyone using it. On the Wenatchee side, a new bridge over the BNSF railroad will connect Bridge Street to the pipeline bridge. Another ramp will start at Hale Park, and KPQ reported it is designed to meet the Americans with Disabilities Act. On the East Wenatchee side, the new span crosses Sunset Highway and comes down on Ninth Street near Valley Mall Parkway.
East Wenatchee Mayor Jerrilea Crawford explained the purpose to KPQ when the two cities broke ground:
"Once this is completed, folks will be able to go from downtown East Wenatchee to downtown Wenatchee without encountering a vehicle. A lot of people try to go to Hale Park with their dog and not having to encounter a car, there's also the skateboard park... so it's really exciting."
Nicole Brockwell, the City of Wenatchee's Engineering Services Manager and the project manager, told NCWLIFE the same thing from the other side of the river: "When it's all said and done, you will be able to walk from downtown Wenatchee to downtown East Wenatchee."
Grants are paying for most of it. NCWLIFE reported the project will cost the City of Wenatchee between $17 million and $20 million, with most of that money coming from various grants. Public Works Director Tom Wachholder told the outlet that if the city had not applied for and accepted the money, "this $20 million, $20-plus million dollars in grant funds would go to another community."
Where Each End Stands Heading Into Winter
The two ends of the bridge are at different stages, and the difference shows up in daily use. Here is where each side stood in the city's September 2026 update.
| Wenatchee side | East Wenatchee side | |
|---|---|---|
| Foundations | Footings, columns and concrete deck finished on the Hale Park side | Many pier footings and columns poured, the rest in progress |
| Main span | 116-foot truss lifted into place over the BNSF tracks | Staircase to the bridge underway |
| Ramp | Remaining work to prepare for public opening | Formwork for the ramp concrete starting |
| Open to the public now | Hale Park and the Dog Park | Loop access point closed |
The truss over the railroad got the most attention. The city says crews set it in just over an hour and that it was "a perfect fit." The holdup on that side is the finishing work. Brockwell told NCWLIFE about "constructability and some procurement delays with getting the handrail completed along the ramp on this side of the project. And ultimately, we can't start putting people up there until it's safe to do so."
The city has divided the remaining work into four milestones, and its updated schedule reflects procurement and construction problems that have to be solved before the trail can safely reopen. The trail connection at Bridge and Columbia, on the west side of the tracks, will be under construction "throughout the next year." That means the bridge reopening and the full project finish are two separate dates. Brockwell said the connection to Bridge and Columbia "will finish the project," and that it looked likely to be done next year. A second access ramp will also come off the north side of the new west bridge, between the railroad and the existing bridge.
The Part That Reaches Sunset Highway
Most of the work so far has stayed off the road. That changes when the East Wenatchee span is set over the highway. When the closure began, KPQ reported that lanes on Sunset Highway would close intermittently during the work, with "occasional full closures of the highway when setting the East Wenatchee structure." NCWLIFE reported that the trusses going over the road were scheduled for October delivery and expected to be finished this winter. If you drive SR 28 past Ninth Street, this is the stretch where the project will affect your commute. KPQ also reported occasional lane closures on South Columbia Street on the Wenatchee side.
The trail along the river is affected too. Brockwell said the contractor has been rebuilding the trail under the East Wenatchee ramp, where it connects to Kirby Billingsley Hydro Park, and that this work is the reason for the detour on the East Wenatchee side. The posted signs at the site show which way the trail runs on a given day.
Getting Across the Columbia This Winter
The Apple Capital Loop is an 11-mile route that usually lets you cross the river at either end. With the south crossing closed, here are the options the project's sources point to:
- The posted detour. The city asks people who usually walk or bike the Clark Pipeline Bridge to follow the detour and has published a map of it. On the Wenatchee side, the detour uses South Avenue, where the city said it was repainting the sharrows.
- Link Transit Route 12. The city specifically recommends Route 12, East Wenatchee/Fred Meyer, and notes that every Link bus has a bike rack. That makes it easy to ride to the river on one side, take the bus across, and ride home on the other.
- The loop's northern crossing. Chelan PUD's Apple Capital Recreation Loop Trail map shows the Odabashian Bridge as the loop's other river crossing.
If you're crossing for Hale Park, the city says Hale Park and its Dog Park are open again. Construction is still going on around them, so the city asks visitors to stay alert and follow posted pedestrian traffic control and detours when getting to the park. The city also said the skate park and the east and west loop access points are expected to open by or during this winter.
The East Wenatchee Riverfront Without a South End
The East Wenatchee riverfront is still there for walks that stay on this side of the river. Chelan PUD's trail map marks the 19th Street Trailhead and the Porter's Pond Nature Area along the East Wenatchee side of the trail. Kirby Billingsley Hydro Park, about two miles south of East Wenatchee on SR 28, covers 70 acres and has restrooms and 1.1 miles of trail. Chelan PUD lists its day-use season as April 1 through October 31, so that season has ended. The boat launch is listed as open year-round.
Those spots will get more useful once the south end reopens. For now, the south crossing is closed and the riverbank trail on this side doesn't connect across it. When the new ramp opens, someone starting near Valley Mall Parkway will be able to climb over Sunset Highway, cross the Columbia on the pipeline bridge, and come down at Hale Park or Bridge Street without riding in traffic. That's the trip Mayor Crawford and Brockwell described. Until the city opens the ramp, expected in winter/spring 2027, that trip goes by detour or on Route 12.
Changes like the new Ninth Street landing affect how a neighborhood works day to day, and we keep track of them across the Wenatchee Valley. If you'd like to talk through what new trail connections near Valley Mall Parkway could mean for your part of East Wenatchee, the team at CB Cascade can help. Connect with a local expert today.
