PORT ANGELES — Traffic will be reduced to one lane on a stretch of South Race Street either today or Monday, depending on weather conditions, so construction crews can pour concrete for the east supporting wall of the new Lauridsen Boulevard bridge.
Traffic flaggers beginning at about 7 a.m. will direct north- and southbound traffic alternating into a single lane of Race Street starting at about 10th Street to the north and a little south of the intersection with Lauridsen Boulevard, said Jim Mahlum, city public works project manager.
Crews with Kent-based Scarsella Bros. will need the space on Race Street to operate a truck that will pour the concrete into a prebuilt rebar framework, Mahlum explained.
The work is expected to take no longer than one day, he added.
Scarscella Bros. crews are completing the bridge replacement under a $4.5 million contract with the city, with wrap up expected in January or February.
A federal grant is funding 80 percent of the replacement costs, with the city paying for 20 percent.
Mahlum said the project is on schedule, with no major delays.
“The weather really has not been a factor for us,” he said. “It’s been actually pretty cooperative.”
Wet and cold weather can limit, for example, when concrete can be poured, Mahlum explained.
Pouring of the bridge’s west supporting wall will follow in the coming weeks but will not require street closures, he said.
Crews expect to have the 140-foot-long concrete girders that will form the bridge’s driving surface delivered from Tacoma and installed during the first week of December.
44-year-old bridge
The new structure is replacing the 44-year-old bridge that was demolished in August.
The sidewalks of the new bridge, which will resemble the two Eighth Street bridges, also will be wider than those of the old.
A new street light at the intersection of Lauridsen Boulevard and Race Street, as well as improvements to the surface of the intersection, is also part of the bridge-replacement project.
Detours around the closed section of Lauridsen Boulevard direct eastbound Lauridsen traffic north onto Eunice Street, east on Eighth Street and then south on Race Street back to Lauridsen on the east side.
Westbound Lauridsen traffic is being directed to follow the same route in reverse.
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Reporter Jeremy Schwartz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jschwartz@peninsuladailynews.com.
