SHINE — Traffic will be greatly slowed over the Hood Canal Bridge on four nights beginning tonight.
From today through Thursday, state Highway 104 over the Hood Canal Bridge will be closed to vehicle traffic from 8:45 p.m. to 10:45 p.m., from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. and from 1:15 a.m. to 3:45 a.m.
The closures will allow repair of the western drawspan of the floating bridge, said Kevin Dayton, state Department of Transportation regional administrator.
The repair schedule allows for only three 15-minute intervals in which motor vehicles will be allowed to cross the bridge during each seven-hour nightly closure.
The idea is to allow backed-up traffic to “flush through every two hours or so,” said Kevin Dayton, state Department of Transportation regional administrator.
The work is weather-dependent and will carry over for more nights if necessary, he said.
Although the eastern half of the floating bridge was replaced in 2009, the 30-year-old western half is showing signs of wear in key components of its drawspan, Dayton said.
Divots in the 11/2-inch-thick steel plates running the length of the drawspan make it difficult to open the western half of the bridge.
The plates protect the pontoon’s concrete from 4-foot-diameter steel rollers, which guide the drawspan as it opens and closes.
The repairs, which must be made with the drawspan open, involve welding low spots in the guide-roller rails, Dayton said.
Real-time information about the Hood Canal Bridge or any state highway is available by phoning 5-1-1, signing up for email/text alerts via www.wsdot.com or visiting www.wsdot.com/traffic.
