Kalama's Footbridge to the River Is Down Until Spring, and Halloween Week Is When It Shows

Since 1970, getting from downtown Kalama to the Columbia has meant walking a concrete overpass across the BNSF tracks. This fall the crossing is gone. The Port of Kalama is replacing it, and the new bridge is not due until spring 2027.

Most weeks you could miss the change. Halloween week is different. Kalama's downtown trick-or-treat is on Friday, October 30, and the waterfront has its own events the next night and a week earlier. For the first time in decades, these two halves of town are planning a holiday without the footbridge between them.

What came down, and why it couldn't stay

The old overpass dates to 1970. Port Executive Director Mark Wilson told Lower Columbia Currents that it does not meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards and has safety concerns. The same report explains the timing. The new crossing has to use the same right of way, so the old structure had to come down before the new one could go up.

The work began in late summer. A City of Kalama notice dated August 12 listed three early jobs: remove the existing pedestrian overpass, install pilings for the new one, and relocate underground utilities to get ready for construction.

The posted route to the river now runs over Oak Street

To give crews room, the City closed W. Frontage Street to northbound traffic beginning August 17, 2026. The City's detour for anyone headed to the Port works like this:

1. Use E. Frontage Street instead of W. Frontage.
2. Cross the Oak Street Bridge to reach the Port side.
3. Southbound W. Frontage stays open from Oak Street for trips back toward town.

The notice estimated the northbound closure would last about two months. That window ends right around now, so check the City's live feed for the latest before you head out. The City's posted detour covers vehicle traffic going to the Port. If you used to walk the old overpass to Marine Park or the Harbor Lodge, watch for City and Port notices about pedestrian access as the work goes on.

In practice, a waterfront evening now begins with the Oak Street crossing. On Halloween week, that changes how you plan the weekend.

Halloween week lands on both sides of the tracks

Here is the week laid out by which side of the tracks each event is on. The post goes live Thursday, October 22, so the first event is the next evening.

The downtown event is the Kalama Chamber's Boo on 1st Street, sponsored by Fibre Federal Credit Union. Besides Friday's trick-or-treat, it includes a window-decorating contest open to any downtown business, a candy drive, and downtown spaces for businesses that don't have a storefront. It's a First Street event, two hours long, ending at 6 p.m. on a Friday.

The waterfront events come the next night. The Interpretive Center's free screening of Night at the Museum 2, listed on Discover Kalama, has chairs and light refreshments. It starts an hour before McMenamins' Halloween Party at Old 97. The party is adults-only and gives a $100 gift card to the costume contest winner.

The two nights don't overlap, so nobody has to choose. Still, a family that used to walk from First Street to the river for a movie should plan Saturday as its own trip across Oak Street, not as a stroll after Friday's candy run.

The waterfront keeps its calendar into the holidays

The waterfront stays open while the bridge is built. Marine Park at 246 Hendrickson Drive is a five-acre day-use park on the Columbia. Walking and bike paths run along it, the beaches are reached from the greenbelt, and the park closes at 11 p.m. The Port lists Interpretive Center hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends.

The Harbor Lodge calendar runs past Halloween:

• Thursday, November 5: Bingo at Kalama, the monthly game at Old 97. Doors open at 6 p.m. and play starts at 7. It's free and all ages, and the prizes can include an overnight stay.
• Thursday, November 26: Thanksgiving at Kalama Harbor Lodge, with a buffet, restaurant specials, and takeout from noon to 5 p.m. The buffet requires reservations and costs $55 for adults and $33 for ages 5 to 12.

The waterfront also gained a landmark this year. In May, KLOG reported that the Port's America 250 project, a 25-foot stainless-steel "Kalama Eagle" by Las Vegas metal sculptor Kevin Stone, was set for dedication at Marine Park at noon on July 4. Visiting family over Thanksgiving gives you a good reason to drive over Oak Street.

Downtown has its own question pending. In July, the City asked for proposals to reuse, redevelop, lease, renovate, or reimagine the Kalama Community Building and its site. Submissions were due October 5. The City's events page says a Chamber-sponsored lighted parade and Christmas activities usually come around the first weekend in December. The waterfront and First Street will each have their own holiday season this year.

The crossing that returns in spring is a different bridge

The new overpass will be a different structure from the one it replaces. The design comes from WSP USA, with architecture by DAO Architecture, and calls for a 142-foot steel Pratt truss standing 25 feet high. It will cross the BNSF tracks and the frontage road next to them. People will reach it by stair towers wrapped in woven wire mesh, and by glass-walled elevators.

Those elevators address the problem Wilson named. A 1970 crossing that didn't meet ADA standards will be replaced by one with elevators in its towers. The Lower Columbia Currents report adds that the new bridge will also span Hendrickson Drive, which the old one did not. Hendrickson is also the street Marine Park sits on, at number 246.

The finish is meant to say something about the town, too. The bridge is mostly weathering steel. Corrugated metal roofs, styled after nearby Port buildings, keep the rain off. Perforated metal panels on each tower show scenes from Kalama's history, and the light fixtures and fritted glass refer to the town's maritime roots and its port and rail ties to the river.

The Port's current contracts list shows construction by Rotschy, Inc. under a contract with a January 15, 2026 effective date, now $12,487,794.39 after one modification. According to Wilson, most of the money comes from Port revenues, with a $750,000 trails grant from Cowlitz County and a $2.25 million state grant on top.

The finish line is spring 2027, with two published dates. Wilson said in February that the work must be done by April 2027. The project's bid documents set overall completion for May 21, 2027.

If you live near First Street or the waterfront and you're wondering how this construction season, or the future crossing, might affect a property you own or one you're watching, June Jones at Woodland Real Estate is glad to talk it through with you, with no pressure. Let's Connect.