The city of Port Angeles released video of the Lauridsen Street bridge collapsing. See it here.
PORT ANGELES — The remaining stretch of the 44-year-old bridge carrying East Lauridsen Boulevard over Peabody Creek came crashing down Wednesday afternoon, reduced to a pile of broken concrete and twisted rebar in the ravine below.
Glenn Cutler, the city’s public works and utilities director, said the bridge collapsed under its own weight as demolition crews with Staton Cos., under contract with Kent-based Scarsella Bros., chipped away at concrete slant-leg supports under the bridge.
“The center of the bridge went down,” Cutler said Wednesday.
“It’s like a wide V shape now.”
All that remains are the two bridge abutments on either side of the ravine where the bridge deck once connected to the asphalt of Lauridsen Boulevard.
First step in project
The demolition is the first step in the bridge replacement project Scarsella Bros. is completing under a $4.5 million contract with the city.
A federal grant is paying for 80 percent of the contract cost, while the city is picking up the remaining 20 percent.
Crews now will move demolition equipment, such as the current excavator used to break up the bridge from the top, down a city-owned stretch of gravel road to access the bridge remnants in the creek bed and break them into smaller pieces, said Jeremy Pozernick, public works inspector and the city’s project manager for the Lauridsen bridge replacement.
The debris will be trucked away to a site of the contractor’s choosing, Pozernick said. “It’s their material to do with as they please,” he said.
The gravel access road leads down the east side of the ravine and is accessed by South Race Street.
Construction crews eventually will improve this section of gravel road and remove some trees so larger pieces of equipment can access the creek bed and construction of the new bridge’s supports can begin, Pozernick explained.
The rebuilt bridge will have a driving surface 18 feet wider than the current one, comprising an eastbound center turn lane, two 12-foot-wide vehicle lanes and two 5-foot-wide bicycle lanes.
The new bridge’s sidewalks also will be wider than the old ones.
Improving intersection
The bridge replacement project includes improving the intersection of Lauridsen Boulevard and Race Street, and installation of a new street light.
The bridge closure, expected to last until January or February of next year, has necessitated detours around the bridge.
The alternate route takes eastbound Lauridsen Boulevard traffic north onto South Eunice Street, east on East Eighth Street and then south on South Race Street back to Lauridsen.
Westbound boulevard 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.
