SHINE — Multiple closures of the Hood Canal Bridge this week and last are due to a pre-scheduled Blue Ribbon Inspection, the state Department of Transportation said.
“The timing of this Blue Ribbon Inspection at the Hood Canal Bridge had nothing to do with the unfortunate seven-hour closure of the bridge on Sunday, July 10 and had already been scheduled for these two weeks,” spokeswoman Cara Mitchell said in a blog on the Transportation website at http://tinyurl.com/PDN-bridgeblog.
“We know that every time the bridge closes to traffic it’s frustrating,” she said. “We appreciate your patience as we get through this important inspection process.”
Drivers can expect two to three closures daily through Friday.
Closures are from about 15 minutes to up to about one hour, Mitchell said.
Free alerts
To get advance information on scheduled drawspan openings — which closes the bridge to vehicular traffic — drivers can sign up for free text/email alerts at the Transportation website at www.wsdot.wa.gov.
They also can get information on the Transportation website. Once at www.wsdot.wa.gov, click the “traffic and cameras” link and then click the “Hood Canal area” link.
Information is updated as Transportation officials receive it from the contractor, Mitchell said.
The day’s schedule might change as the work is done, she added.
Every year, the bridge undergoes an independent two-week Blue Ribbon Inspection.
The mechanical and electrical portion of the inspection began last week and continues through this week.
It requires several maintenance closures to measure and monitor those systems, Mitchell said.
Those inspecting the bridge are from Hardesty and Hanover of New York. In addition, engineers with Transportation’s state bridge preservation office in Olympia are participating. They are professionals who are not responsible for the day-to-day bridge maintenance, Mitchell said.
Whenever possible, openings of the drawspan for maintenance reasons are paired with openings to allow passage of marine vessels.
Coordinated work
The openings and inspections require coordinated work with crew members, engineers and inspectors, and it is not practical for all those involved to limit the openings to only night hours throughout the two-week period, she added.
In addition, the inspections require daylight to see inside tight spaces and to get detailed observations on bridge components and operations.
The Blue Ribbon Inspections were begun after the 1990 sinking of the I-90 Lacey V. Murrow floating bridge in Seattle during a windstorm, Mitchell said.
Then-Governor Booth Gardener established a Blue Ribbon Panel to investigate the circumstances that led to the sinking of the bridge. The result was mandated annual Blue Ribbon inspections that were required by the Transportation Commission.
