Date:  Monday, January 25, 2010

Contact:
Jeff Cook, Project Manager, 253-383-9622
Joe Irwin, WSDOT Communications, 360-357-2703

SHINE – Contractor Kiewit-General’s replacement and retrofit work on the SR 104 Hood Canal Bridge is coming to a close and as the project’s completion nears, drivers can expect nighttime bridge openings resuming Monday, Jan. 25.

The nighttime work requires 90-minute traffic closures that will allow crews to work through a 93-page, 1,400-item functional testing checklist and review all systems on the west half of the bridge. Functional testing closures occur intermittently from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. Monday through Friday. The tests, which are part of Kiewit-General’s contract, are scheduled to take at least three weeks to complete.

For the past several months, Kiewit-General has conducted daytime ballast testing that required frequent daytime openings of the bridge. The ballast testing is scheduled to conclude the week of Jan. 25-Jan 29.

“Now that ballast testing is in its final days, we can start checking off punch-list items that will prepare us for the final series of project-related tests,” said Jeff Cook, project manager.

Following functional testing, WSDOT and Kiewit-General must complete 20 consecutive error-free openings to meet operational standards that demonstrate the reliability of the east and west draw spans. These intermittent 90-minute draw span tests take place from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. Monday through Friday and are expected to take several days to complete. All openings, maritime included, are included in the 20-cycle count.

“The replacement and retrofit project is coming to a close,” said Cook. “After this work is complete, the only scheduled closures planned for the bridge will be annual inspections.”

The next round of annual maintenance inspections for the Hood Canal Bridge will begin in May.

For more information about the SR 104 Hood Canal Bridge project, including daytime ballast test schedules, visit http://www.hoodcanalbridge.com/. 

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