SHINE — Driving off the North Olympic Peninsula this week?
Beware of delays at the Hood Canal Bridge.
As part of almost-final work on the bridge, bridge traffic will be stopped at:
■ 12:15 p.m. today.
■ 1:15 p.m. Wednesday.
■ 1:45 p.m. Thursday.
Each opening will stop traffic for at least 40 minutes, with longer waits possible because of backed-up traffic.
No closures are scheduled for Friday.
There was also a bridge closure on Monday, and three closures last week, as part of the $500 million bridge repair project.
The openings allow testing of the ballast in pontoons to ensure that both the new east side and the retrofitted west side work together, state engineers say.
The tests are timed to coincide with slack tides.
Bridge openings for marine vessels, which are from 40 minutes to an hour, occur as needed. No advance notice is given.
Scheduled closures are listed online at www.hoodcanalbridge.com.
Text-message alerts about bridge closures can be received by signing up online at the same Web site.
To find out if the bridge is open, dial 5-1-1, or phone toll free at 800-419-9085.
Neither phone number will provide advance notice of closures.
