SHINE — The Hood Canal Bridge usually still takes about 30 minutes to open and close, as it did before the east-half construction work in May and June, but periodic delays can be expected while work continues on the retrofitting of the floating structure’s west half.
The west half work primarily involves retrofitting the electrical systems so that it matches the new east half, plus other component replacement work, such as the giant bearings that help keep the 300-foot-long west drawspan in alignment with the east drawspan.
Joe Irwin, spokesman for the Hood Canal Bridge project, said the bridge was closed from 11:20 a.m. to “just past noon” Friday after the draw span was opened for a marine vessel, taking longer than expected to close because of technical issues.
“Typically, openings take about 30 minutes,” he said.
“We had some [draw span] alignment issues that needed to be fixed.”
When the state Department of Transportation replaced the east half of the bridge and reopened it to traffic ahead of schedule in June, engineers did so knowing that some construction work remained.
That work will continue through the end of the year.
During the May-June closure the contractor, Kiewitt-General, was required to operate the bridge’s east drawspan 20 times in a row to ensure it was reliable.
“Now that the bridge is again open to traffic, ongoing construction activities such as anchor cable replacement, ballasting and other adjustments — both expected and unexpected — could affect how long draw span operations take,” Irwin said.
“We didn’t want to delay the June reopening of the bridge to accomplish these tasks, but they need to continue throughout the summer to get the bridge in shape for the winter and assure optimal performance in the future.”
Irwin recommends that travelers stay informed on scheduled and unexpected bridge closures by signing up for text message traveler alerts that inform them about scheduled closures and incidents.
The service does not alert subscribers when the bridge reopens to vehicular traffic.
To register, visit www.wsdot.wa.gov, click on “E-mail updates” in the upper right-hand corner and follow the instructions.
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Port Townsend-Jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
