As a long time reader of this forum, it seems that Mr. Hepkema has some significant experience with railroad construction. Is this estimate really out of line? It seems pretty high to me for no more than it is and given that it appears that the bents are not driven in but rather set on cement pads. It would have been much easier to have only replaced the burned portion of the bridge, but WSDOT seems to have a hard time managing bridge projects---case in point being the Hwy 12 drawbridge in Clarkston---redecked it with too heavy a material and is now attempting to grind it down bit by bit to get it to lift right----a drawspan that gets opened less than once per year they are spending millions on.