SHINE — Check out the status of the Hood Canal Bridge before leaving on that trip.
That’s the advice of the state Department of Transportation, issued Thursday for motorists who plan to cross the bridge on state Highway 104 through Sunday.
A marine opening set for 1:45 p.m. Friday could delay traffic up to four hours, Transportation said Thursday.
Since the opening will be at high tide, it could create a similar circumstance that led to Wednesday’s closure, officials said.
It’s possible that the drawspan would be stuck until the next slack tide at about 5:30 p.m., they said.
The status of the bridge — whether it is open or closed to vehicular traffic — will be regularly updated at www.wsdot.wa.gov, said Transportation spokeswoman Claudia Bingham Baker on Thursday.
The bridge was closed to traffic in both directions for six hours Wednesday after the drawbridge became misaligned with the bridge by about 7 feet and would not close.
The misalignment, which was corrected at 4:43 p.m. after the bridge was shut down at 10:30 a.m., was caused by a combination of high tides, cable work and a drawspan opening for a marine vessel, Baker said.
Through the weekend, crews will continue work to replace an anchor cable located close to the drawspan as part of a construction project.
“The drawspan is more flexible than anticipated when we planned this work,” said Kevin Dayton, Olympic Region administrator.
“We apologize for yesterday’s unexpected extended closure.
“Unfortunately, we can’t rule out the possibility the same thing will happen again until we get that anchor cable secured.”
Contractor crews are working around the clock to expedite the anchor replacement, and a tug boat is on standby to maneuver the drawspan back into position should the same situation occur, Baker said.
Particularly strong tides are complicating the process, and maneuvering the drawspan back into position may only be possible during slack tides, she added.
Coast Guard regulations require Transportation to open the drawspan to marine traffic within one hour’s notice.
Mariners have been asked to request drawspan openings only during slack tides, but they are not required to abide by that request, Baker said.
“The potential for another extended closure exists until the anchor cable is installed and tensioned, which is scheduled to be complete on Sunday,” she said.
The construction project is replacing 21 of the bridge’s 42 anchor cables.
Ten cables have been replaced, one is in the process of being replaced and 10 cables remain to be done.
Crews plan to complete the project before the storm season arrives, typically in October.
