SHINE — The Hood Canal Bridge will be closed at times between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. beginning next Monday as crews deal with a hydraulic issue that is hampering the opening and closing of the floating bridge’s drawspan.
The closures to traffic will continue at least through the week, the state Department of Transportation said today.
The three sections of the west side lift span were operating at different speeds caused by unequal hydraulic pressure. After a series of diagnostic tests, crews adjusted the systems and confirmed proper operation during two short test openings late last week, a statement from the Department of Transportation said.
“With the lift span issue resolved, we can continue with the reminder of our functional testing on the west half and take a large step toward completing construction-related openings of the bridge,” said Kevin Dayton, regional administrator. “We certainly appreciate the continued patience of the public while we complete our testing checklist.”
The agency said the test openings, approximately 50 percent finished, will take about six nights to complete. West-half “functional testing” will be followed by about three nights of tests of both the east and west drawspans. When both functional and drawspan tests are complete — which could be as soon as 10 days — construction-related openings of the bridge and the west-half retrofit project will conclude, Transportation said in its prepared statement.
For more information, visit www.HoodCanalBridge.com.
