PORT ANGELES — Work crews finished painting a sealant on the upper portions of the two Eighth Street bridges Thursday after four days of work and disruption to traffic.
Port Angeles city spokeswoman Teresa Pierce had said that the sealant application would close one lane of the Tumwater Creek Bridge for 10 working days beginning Monday before another 10 working days were needed for the Valley Creek Bridge.
Instead, both lanes on both bridges opened Thursday.
Parsons RCI Inc. will continue to paint the sealant — which protects the concrete from moisture and ensures easier removal of graffiti — on the underside of the two bridges and conduct some wetland mitigation before being entirely done with the project.
The project cost $21.6 million in state Department of Transportation grants and $3 million in city funds.
The new concrete bridges – which are 47 feet wide with two 12-foot lanes, two 5-foot bicycle lanes, two 6.5-foot sidewalks and two pedestrian viewpoints — were opened Feb. 24.
They replaced trestle bridges built in 1936.
The new bridges were scheduled to be completed in November, but cold, wet weather delayed the full application of the sealant.
The city decided to open the bridges before that work could be completed.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
