PORT ANGELES — Drivers are expected to encounter one-way alternating traffic across the Elwha River bridge on U.S. Highway 101 on Monday, April 30.
The alternating traffic, set from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., will allow the state Department of Transportation bridge preservation crews to conduct a scheduled bridge inspection.
In the event of severe weather conditions, the inspection could be rescheduled.
Engineers are keeping an eye on bridge stability since it was discovered that the concrete arch bridge has been undermined by erosion in the wake of the removal of the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams.
Dam removal, which occurred from 2011 to 2014, has lowered the river bed at the bridge by about 14 feet, Transportation officials said. Boulders have been added to reinforce the base of the piers and west abutment.
A replacement for the 1926 bridge has been fully funded and is expected to go out to bid in early 2019, state Rep. Mike Chapman has said.
For more information, see www.ElwhaRiver Bridge.com.
