SHINE — State and federal agencies are reviewing the impacts Hood Canal Bridge work will have on eel grass, bald eagles, bull trout and other species.
The state Department of Transportation currently faces the daunting challenge of working with a dozen agencies to obtain regulatory permits for the $205 million project to renovate the western part of the bridge starting in 2003 and replace the eastern portion in 2006.
Permits for the project must be completed by November before bids go out, and agencies are still working to assess the impact of the enormous plan that includes constructing park-and-rides, passenger ferry docks, sites where the pontoons for the bridge will be assembled and work on the bridge itself.
Concerns range from stormwater runoff from the bridge and parking lots to creosoted timber and effects on geoduck harvests.
On Wednesday, members of the state Permit Efficiency and Accountability Committee met in Port Ludlow to get an update on the status of the environmental permit process for bridge reconstruction. The committee was formed by the Legislature last year to expedite environmental permitting for transportation projects.
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