HOOD CANAL — One of two maintenance projects on the Hood Canal Bridge are complete, and there are no more delays expected on the bridge that links the Olympic Peninsula to the Kitsap Peninsula.
A welding project that narrowed the lanes on the bridge is complete, but work continues on anchor cable replacement, said Cara Mitchell, spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation.
“They have moved away from the area that caused the problems,” Mitchell said.
The completion date for work on the anchor cables has not been established, she said, adding that the crew works as weather allows.
On Sept. 9, with anchor cables detached for maintenance, a combination of tides and a bridge opening caused the drawspan to shift out of alignment with the bridge.
It was stuck open for more than six hours beginning at 10:28 a.m., preventing vehicular traffic over the bridge until it was reopened at 4:45 p.m. after tug boats realigned the span with the bridge.
The closure backed up traffic to and from the North Olympic Peninsula on state Highway 104.
Hundreds of motorists were left to wait in long lines on either side of the bridge, and some made the choice to take longer routes to the north or south to reach their destinations.
Tugboats were used to keep the bridge in place during subsequent openings, and there were no additional delays.
The bridge, which is 7,869 feet long and opened in 1961, connects the Olympic and Kitsap peninsulas.
The west half was reconstructed in the early 1980s, and the east half was replaced in 2009.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladaily
news.com.
