Powell leaders are preparing to replace one of the city’s bridges — though the work remains in the early stages.

At an Oct. 5 meeting, the Powell City Council formally approved a small expenditure that should kick start the effort to widen the Fair Street bridge.

The structure spans the Garland Canal and is one of several that helps connect Powell’s northern and southern sides. The bridge is also used by numerous travelers and commercial truckers to get from West Coulter Avenue (a.k.a. U.S. Highway 14A) to Wyo. Highway 295. 

However, “it’s not wide enough,” said City Administrator Zack Thorington.

City officials have identified the replacement as a priority for years and have been saving up their annual share of federal Urban System funding.

With roughly $1 million now in the account, the city’s Urban Systems committee voted in late April to pursue a preliminary engineering/reconnaissance report, which will provide an overview of the project and a detailed estimate of how much it will cost.

The report is expected to cost around $20,200, but the Wyoming Department of Transportation is picking up 90.49% of the bill, or $20,089, with federal dollars. The city only has to pay the remaining $2,111 (9.51%), though it will be on the hook for the full cost if it abandons the projects or fails to have the new bridge designed within three years of the report’s completion.

Thorington said he thinks the replacement would likely be some type of box culvert that can accommodate three lanes of traffic. He said the city is working with the irrigation district to move the existing canal drop structure further to the west.

“We think it’ll happen; we’re hoping,” he said, “but the first stage is you have to do this reconnaissance first to get that estimate.”

The Fair Street project will run from Coulter Avenue to the Burlington Northern Sante Fe railroad tracks.

Mayor John Wetzel called the spot a “traffic hazard,” noting that the sloped street becomes “quite slick” in cold weather; it routinely has to be partially closed during wintry conditions.

“The grade is part of the problem,” Wetzel said, adding, “it’s hard to stop sometimes coming in there and that’s where most of our winter traffic wrecks [occur].”

Thorington agreed it’s a “bad spot.” Though he wasn’t sure if replacing the bridge would solve that traffic issue, “we definitely will talk about that when it comes to design,” he said.

The Wyoming Department of Transportation has until the end of 2027 to complete the reconnaissance report.