Wishkah Bridge counterweight will get a welcome sign

Say goodbye to the standard green highway signs currently fastened to the counterweight on the east end of the Wishkah Street Bridge.

The city aims to grace the front of the counterweight in the coming months with a vinyl wrap bearing “Welcome to Aberdeen,” a replica of the sign on the bridge back in the 1940s. The counterweight is what allows the bridge to swing up and allow boats to pass up and down the Wishkah River.

It will be the first of three versions that will greet travelers to the coast, with each wrap expected to last two to five years. The next two have also been designed but are still going through revisions, said Aberdeen Revitalization Movement volunteer Tim Quigg.

The project is a joint venture between the City of Aberdeen, ARM, the state Department of Transportation and GM Nameplate, the Seattle-based company whose subsidiary, SuperGraphics, is manufacturing and donating the 24-foot-by-15-foot vinyl wrap. Don Root, who owns local businesses Root Paint and Root Construction, is the chief executive of GM Nameplate. He couldn’t be reached for comment.

Scott Olsen, another ARM volunteer, said after DOT removes the current frame holding the sign, GM Nameplate would spend four to six hours during a night shift mounting the new frame.

The wrap will then be spread over the frame, and another locking frame would go over the wrap’s edges.

The process, Olsen said, is similar to putting a screen in a door.

Dennis Engel, DOT’s Olympic Region planning manager, said the department has not yet approved the wrap and framework, but has partnered with the city on the project. In addition to removing the existing frame on the counterweight holding the signs, it will provide traffic control during installation of the new frame.

DOT, Engel said, will also be replacing the sign above Wishkah Street east of the bridge to provide directions to other Harbor cities on official green-and-white highway signs.

Though the timeline is yet to be determined, the wrap is tentatively scheduled to go up before June, Quigg said Tuesday.

Mayor Bill Simpson, who chose the banners, said the first design is a replica of the banner that was on the counterweight in 1945. The second features directions to the various cities in the area, as well as Olympic National Park. The third also provides directions with the backdrop of Harbor landmarks, including a lighthouse.

Simpson added that Westport Mayor Michael Bruce and Crystal Dingler, mayor of Ocean Shores, were on board with the plan to promote the Harbor and travel to the various cities via Aberdeen.

Quigg said the banners would give the city’s entryway a historic quality that’s been gone for the last few decades.

“There’s always been artwork on that bridge for the last 50 years,” Quigg said, adding that the artwork came down to make room for signs sometime in the last 20 years. “We’re just putting it back up.”

Kyle Mittan, 360-537-3932, kmittan@thedailyworld.com. Twitter: @KyleMittan