Date:
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Contact:
Lloyd Brown, Communication Manager, (360) 357-2789
OLYMPIA – Based on the results of citizen questionnaires, an on-line survey and a telephone poll, the Washington State Department of Transportation revised its estimated dates for closing the State Route 104 Hood Canal Bridge in August.
The current schedule now under review by the project contractor, Kiewit-General of Poulsbo, would close the bridge twice in August – one weekday closure and one weekend closure. The closure dates remain tentative until late June.
The first closure would begin at 10 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 11 and end before 5 a.m. Monday, Aug. 15. The second closure would begin at 10 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 21 and end by 5 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 25.
WSDOT – in cooperation with the Port Townsend Chamber of Commerce, the Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce and the Olympic Peninsula Joint Marketing Group –sought public input in April on preferred closure dates. The group published questionnaires, collected on-line surveys and used a 400-respondent telephone survey. The results showed 49 percent of respondents preferred weekend closures, while 35 percent wanted a weekday closure. Washington State Ferries schedules, low tide warnings and regional festival schedules also were considered in selecting closure dates.
The bridge closures are needed to replace each end of the bridge with a new roadway now under construction next to the existing roadway. During the closures the contractor will place the existing roadway on rollers, roll that existing roadway onto temporary supports, and roll the new wider roadway into place. Staging the work in this manner reduced the bridge closure time from about a year to just two three-day closures.
A detailed explanation of the ongoing SR 104 Hood Canal Bridge East-half Replacement and West-half Retrofit project, as well as bridge closure tips, is available on-line at www.hoodcanalbridge.com. Information also is available at 1-877-595-HCB2.
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