Date:  Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Contact: Dustin Terpening, WSDOT communications, 360-757-5997 (Burlington)
Chris Damitio, Project Engineer, 360-788-7400 (Bellingham)

LYNDEN – Nine months ago, WSDOT promised that the new Nooksack River bridge near Lynden would open in time for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, B.C. It was a tall order, but crews delivered -- and with 15 days to spare.

Daily Guide Meridian (SR 539) drivers, many of whom have watched crews build the bridge, piece by piece, will get their first chance to drive on it Thursday morning, Jan. 28.

“We’re pretty excited to open the bridge to drivers,” project engineer Chris Damitio said. “No other bridge like it has been built around here for 40 years. It’s been a massive undertaking and a lot of fun to be a part of.”

The 685-ton steel through-truss bridge is comprised of 200 individual truss sections, connected by 600 connection plates and various other steel pieces, and secured by more than 15,000 bolts.

The bridge is part of a larger $106.7 million project, funded by the 2003 gas tax, that will transform the Guide Meridian into a safer and less-congested, four-lane divided highway between Ten Mile Road and Lynden.

Crews plan to stripe the highway late Wednesday night. Drivers should be prepared for lane shifts and crews working near the road overnight Wednesday and early Thursday morning.

In addition to opening the bridge, crews will open another mile of the Guide, between Wiser Lake and River roads, to four lanes.

Crews expect to finish the Fishtrap Creek bridge, north of the Nooksack River, and open the highway to four lanes up to Lynden in early February, before the Olympics begin.

Though the Guide will be open in time for the Olympics, crews will return after the games to complete some remaining work: Pave the final layer of asphalt between Ten Mile Road and Lynden; and paint the new Nooksack River bridge.

The last steel through-truss bridge in Whatcom County was built in 1971 on I-5 over the Nooksack River in Ferndale.

Pictures of crews building the bridge from start to finish are available on the WSDOT’s Flickr site: www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/sets/72157618016037095/.

Project Web page - www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR539/TenmileBorder/.  

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