PORT ANGELES — The Eighth Street bridges will open in February, say project managers, who say the final touches are being done on the replacement spans.
“We realize it doesn’t look like a lot is getting done,” said Greg Bennett, Parsons project manager.
“It’s a lot of little things that you don’t see, day in and day out, when they are getting done.”
Steve Sperr, city engineer, said on Friday that the contractor, Parsons RCI of Sumner, is contracted for working days until about Feb. 15.
By then, he said, the project will be finished.
Glenn Cutler, city public works director, said in November that the $24.6 million project to replace the Tumwater Creek and Valley Creek bridges would be completed about Feb. 2.
The bridges were initially scheduled to open in November.
Construction began on June 25, 2007, and traffic was rerouted through Port Angeles to avoid the major arterial that crosses two ravines — leaving thin traffic passing by businesses on Eighth Street between the two spans.
Soil problems
Cutler has said that poor soil on the west side of the Tumwater Creek bridge required a redesign of a foundation abutment that resulted in extending Parsons’ contract for 45 working days.
The extension cost the city $90,000.
The project is funded by $21.6 million in state Department of Transportation grants and $3 million in city funds.
With a February opening, the bridge replacement project will have taken 19 months in total, which is the duration the city estimated when it put the project to bid in December 2005.
Ingo Goller, Exceltech construction manager, said in November that the Tumwater Creek bridge was about 90 percent completed and the Valley Creek bridge was about 85 percent done.
Exceltech has a $1.94 million contract with the city to manage the project.
The concrete bridges are 47 feet wide with two 12-foot lanes, two 5-foot bicycle lanes, two 6 1/2-foot sidewalks and two pedestrian viewpoints.
Minimal staff
Bob Alton, Exceltech office engineer, said on Friday that work continues on the bridge, although it may not be very visible.
Alton said the final work on the bridges doesn’t require a lot of manpower.
Alton and Bennett said the work that is left to complete includes painting a pigmented sealer on the concrete for weather protection, placement of the handrails, wetland and other site mitigation.
“It’s all the finishing up activities,” Bennett said.
“There is limited amount of work to get done. We only need the people that support that limited amount of work.”
Bennet added that the company wants to make sure that all of the small items are done before the bridges are opened.
Alton said crews were unable to work on the bridges on six days last month because of bad weather.
Bennett said sunny, dry weather is needed to finish spraying the sealer.
Because of poor weather on Friday, workers had to stop prepping the bridges for the sealer at noon, he said.
“It’s weather dependent,” Bennett said. “It’s a tough one to battle with.
“Just ask for warm weather and a few weeks of patience and we’ll get there.”
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@ peninsuladailynews.com.
