PORT ANGELES — Marine Drive will be reduced to one lane near the McKinley Paper Co. mill next month as crews make repairs to the small channel bridge at the foot of Ediz Hook.
Neptune Marine of Anacortes will begin to mobilize Nov. 5 for a $641,373 project that involves replacing the approach spans, laying asphalt from the bridge to the stop sign at the mill, installing new guardrail and affixing water and sewer pipes to the side of the span, said Jonathan Boehme, project manager for the city of Port Angeles.
Built in 1961, the short bridge spans the canal that connects the lagoon south of the mill to Port Angeles Harbor. It serves Ediz Hook and Coast Guard Air Station/Sector Field Office Port Angeles.
“Our goal is to complete the project with as little inconvenience as possible while keeping the safety of the workers, public, pedestrians and motorists a top priority,” Boehme said in a news release.
“Please plan for delays and watch for trucks entering and leaving the work zone. Please remember, when you see our work crews, slow down for safety.”
Flaggers will direct traffic through the area during work hours. Stop signs on both ends of the bridge will direct motorists to alternate routes through the work zone during evening, weekend and overnight hours, Boehme said in a telephone interview.
The Port Angeles City Council awarded a contract to Neptune Marine, the lowest of six bidders, in July.
Construction was delayed by a strike of Local 302 of the International Union of Operating Engineers in Western Washington, Boehme said. The strike impacted several other North Olympic Peninsula projects as well.
The channel bridge has failing sheet pile walls that hold up the approach slabs. Temporary patches were installed in 2015.
The city received a $510,000 Federal Surface Transportation Program grant to help pay for a long-term fix, officials said in a memo to the City Council.
The engineer’s estimate was $637,695.
“We hope to be done with the majority of the bridge work by the end of December,” Boehme said Wednesday.
The project will be suspended with both lanes of Marine Drive open to traffic through the winter. Paving will take place when the weather improves, most likely in April, Boehme said.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
