TACOMA - Twenty concrete anchors, weighing from 1,000 tons to 1,400 tons each, will be fabricated at Todd Shipyards in Seattle for the SR 104 Hood Canal Bridge Project. Kiewit-General of Poulsbo, the project contractor, and WSDOT made the announcement together with Todd Shipyards today after determining that the Todd facility is the only facility that could complete the project in time to coordinate with the rest of the bridge replacement construction.
Anchors, large concrete structures used to hold the floating bridge in place, must be in place on the bottom of the Hood Canal before fall 2008 in order to install pontoons in summer of 2009. Any delays in the anchor construction would extend the float-in date of completed pontoons to at least 2010. When finished, the Hood Canal Bridge will be wider, safer, and more affordable to maintain.
Eric Soderquist, WSDOT's Hood Canal Bridge Project Manager, said that WSDOT has been looking for a home for the anchor work for months. But the federal permitting regulations associated with building anchors in Port Angeles - primarily a new environmental assessment and additional federal section 106 consultation - would not allow the anchors to be built in time to meet the project's schedule.
"Port Angeles has been a possibility, and other locations were also reviewed," said Soderquist. "Options at Port Angeles have run out of time to obtain the permits and approvals from federal and state regulatory agencies. In the end, time has been our biggest concern and ultimately forced us to make a decision.
Soderquist added, "If we are going to keep abreast of the schedule for placing the new pontoons, anchor construction must move ahead. Todd Shipyards is the only company with the site and the approvals to get on with work and we have approved our contractor entering into the necessary arrangements."
Kiewit-General presented WSDOT with seven different anchor construction options. The sites included an above ground option at the Port Angeles Graving Dock property, above ground option at Port Gamble, and using Todd Shipyards facilities.
The anchors are the final portion of the bridge pontoon and anchor fabrication project to be relocated after the state in December 2004 abandoned its program for their fabrication at a new dry dock facility in Port Angeles. Construction of the dry dock in Port Angeles uncovered numerous unexpected Native American burials and was forced to a halt when it became impossible to overcome the uncertainties to project budget and schedule involved in appropriate archaeological and cultural treatment of the burial sites. The pontoon fabrication work was moved to Concrete Tech in Tacoma.
For Hood Canal Bridge Project information, visit www.hoodcanalbridge.com.