SHINE — Public comment will be taken until April 16 on a proposed rule forbidding summer rush-hour Hood Canal Bridge drawbridge openings for nonmilitary vessels.
The rule is intended to stop waits of up to 45 minutes for vehicles crossing the bridge.
The proposed rule would prohibit drawbridge openings for pleasure crafts from 3 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. every day between May 22 and Sept. 30.
Commercial tug and tow vessels and Navy ships would be allowed to halt traffic so the drawbridge can be raised to allow passage.
After the comment period is closed, the Coast Guard will analyze the comments and make a ruling, either deciding to enact the change in May, asking for more information or leaving the existing regulations in place, said Randall Overton, 13th Coast Guard District bridge administrator.
The peak-traffic closure of the drawbridge was tested last year. Bridge openings during rush-hour were banned in the summer of 2011, and public comments were solicited.
Based on those comments, Overton thinks the rule will be put into effect.
“During the 60-day period last year, the comments were overwhelmingly in favor of the rule,” he said.
“There were one or two negative comments, but those have been addressed.”
There is no public meeting scheduled to discuss the regulation, but citizens can request one through the website at http://tinyurl.com/7my6jet, where the proposed rule is outlined.
The proposed rule has been published in the Federal Register, the Coast Guard said Thursday, and can be accessed at http://tinyurl.com/7my6jet.
The idea for the closure was suggested by then State Sen. Phil Rockefeller and Rep. Christine Rolfes, who is now a senator. Both were Democrats from Bainbridge Island.
The two legislators maintained that bridge openings at peak times backed up traffic on state Highway 3, state Highway 104 and all the arteries for at least 45 minutes every time the bridge was opened.
The move also was supported by state Reps. Kevin Van De Wege and Steve Tharinger, both Sequim Democrats, as well as state Sen. Jim Hargrove, D-Hoquiam — all of the 24th District, which includes the North Olympic Peninsula.
Under existing rules, any craft can approach the bridge and request that the drawbridge be opened.
Opening the drawbridge is at the discretion of bridge personnel.
If the proposed rule is adopted, any request from a non-military vessel made during peak times would be denied, even if there was no traffic at the time.
Overton doesn’t think this presents a problem.
“Last year, mariners knew about the test deviation so they didn’t make the requests during those times,” he said.
He said that most pleasure craft do not require a drawbridge opening, since the bridge accommodates boats that can fit between a 50-foot-high and 230-foot-wide clearance.
Any boat that requests a bridge opening that could have passed safely under the span at the east side of the bridge could be fined, Overton said.
The Department of Transportation favors making the rule permanent but suggests it should begin May 16 to give traffic patterns time to adjust before the Memorial Day weekend, said spokesperson Lisa Copeland.
Bridge openings
In 2010, when the rule was not in place, the bridge opened 29 times in June, 16 for recreational boats, 12 for Navy vessels and one for a test.
It opened 48 times in July — 22 for pleasure craft, 19 for Navy vessels, two for commercial boats and five for tests.
Only eight July openings occurred between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., and five of them were for Navy vessels.
In 2011 when the test was in effect, the bridge opened 12 times during the summer period during peak hour, all for Navy vessels Copeland said.
Four requests by pleasure boats to open the bridge were denied passage during that time, she said.
The proposal can be seen and comments can be emailed at www.regulations.gov.
To find the document or to refer to it in comments, use docket number USCG-2012-0074.
Public comment also can be submitted by mail or fax — also with the docket number.
The fax number is 202-493-2251.
To send by U.S. mail, address the comment to Docket Management Facility (M-30), U.S. Department of Transportation, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, D.C. 20590-0001.
For answers to questions about the rule, contact Overton at 206-220-7282 or randall.d.overton@uscg.mil.
For answers to questions about viewing or submitting material to the docket, phone Renee V. Wright, program manager of docket operations, at 202-366-9826.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
