State Department of Transportation officials plan to drill 80 feet to take two core samples on the northeast corner of the graving yard site in Port Angeles today.
This is one of the first construction activities on the dry dock for Hood Canal Bridge components since Transportation shut down the $17 million project Aug. 26 after the discovery of Native American remains.
The samples, four to six inches in diameter, will help determine the striation of materials and officials will look for archeological items, said Lloyd D. Brown, Transportation’s Olympic region communication manager.
The sampling will also allow officials to design the coffer dam that will hold back water to allow excavation at the mouth of the graving dock, Brown said.
Full construction at the 22.4-acre site won’t resume until agreements among Transportation, Lower Elwha Klallam tribal, Army Corps of Engineers, Federal Highway Administration and state Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation officials have been reached.
