SHINE — Human error caused the unplanned seven-hour closure of the Hood Canal Bridge on Sunday, the state Department of Transportation has announced.
An uneven lift span on the state Highway 104 bridge caused the closure, and initial investigations have shown that this resulted from a malfunction of one of four hydraulic lift cylinders that raise and lower that section of the bridge, according to a Transportation press release.
The lift didn’t have enough hydraulic fluid, the amount of which is controlled by a valve that was inadvertently left closed after preventive maintenance work last week.
The malfunctioning hydraulic lift caused the lift span to rise unevenly during an 8 a.m. marine opening Sunday, closing the bridge to marine and vehicular traffic.
“We are so sorry for the inconvenience and travel disruptions this incident caused to mariners and motorists alike,” Troy Cowan, Transportation’s Olympic Region assistant regional administrator of maintenance and operations, said in the release.
“Our crews take great pride in their maintenance of the Hood Canal Bridge. This mistake is a humbling reminder of how important their work is, and how important it is for them to be focused and diligent at all times.”
Crews respond
When the incident took place Sunday, Transportation bridge engineers and additional bridge crewmembers arrived at the bridge and manually lowered the span to its closed position.
The bridge was then inspected for damage before reopening to traffic just before 3 p.m.
Speaking to the PDN on Sunday, Transportation spokesperson Cara Mitchell said staff are trained in responding to similar situations.
“We’ve [trained] within the last year,” she said. “The crews are trained on how to respond to a situation like this, but this is the first time any of us can remember actually having to implement it.”
Minor damage
Initial assessments showed only minor damage, which was limited to a few broken bolts used to mount a broken electrical limit switch, according to the release.
As a result of Sunday’s closure, policies for opening the lift span will be revised to include more quality assurance checks and additional test openings of the span after specific maintenance procedures.
Items such as placing signs on the valves in question as a reminder to open them after maintenance will also be installed.
“We are taking these steps to ensure that this type of event does not occur again, as we understand how vital this bridge is to Olympic Peninsula residents and businesses,” Cowan said.
There were two maintenance openings scheduled for Monday, which were planned before Sunday’s unexpected closure.
The bridge reopened to traffic following these openings.
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Peninsula Daily News reporter Jesse Major contributed to this report.
