SHINE — Could the Hood Canal Bridge’s deteriorating eastern half — scheduled to be replaced this year — sink like the western half did in the 1979 windstorm?
Yes, according to former state Department of Transportation Secretary Doug MacDonald, who in 2004 said the rapidly deteriorating bridge was just one big windstorm away from such a fate.
Asked Thursday if he agreed with that assessment, Scott Ireland, DOT bridge construction manager, said, “I would say so.
“That’s why we are building the east half.”
The bridge will close May 1 for six weeks to replace the eastern half, a $477.8 million project.
Once the eastern half is in place in June, Ireland said there will be no chance of it happening again, simply because DOT has done all it can to prevent the structure from failing in powerful windstorm.
The pontoon hatches, which blew open on the old bridge’s west-half in1979, are now designed much like those on submarines, with a screw-tightening wheel allowing for airtight lock-down, he said.
In addition, he added, the concrete used in the pontoons is “very dense concrete and very impermeable. They are much stronger units with the type of construction.”
Epoxy-coated rebar, which resists corrosion, was used in the pontoons, he said.
Ireland said that DOT has ensured that improvements are in the initial design, in construction materials and construction methods, with quality assurance performed.
The pontoons are also designed with water-detection systems that will send alerts sent to the bridge’s control tower should leaks occur.
The bridge will continue to be automatically opened at its draw span if winds are sustained at 40 mph for 15 minutes or more, he said.
This relieves pressure on the structure.
Closure preparations
Work on temporary ferry service facilities, meanwhile, is under way on both sides of Hood Canal, said Becky Hixson, bridge project business manager.
Kiewitt-General and DOT workers have installed pilings and a float at the South Point dock site in the Bridgehaven community south of the bridge.
A gangway should be brought in about Feb. 23 to connect the existing dock with the new 30- by 80-foot floating dock so that water shuttle contractor Victoria Express of Port Angeles can land, pick up passengers and launch to Lofall, where the same work is now taking place, Hixson said.
A temporary parking lot at Fred Hill Materials’ Shine pit, which will be removed along with other bridge work transportation infrastructure after the bridge project’s completion, has been constructed, and signs and lighting are now going up there, she said.
A parking lot at Port Gamble on the Kitsap side of the canal is complete and signs and lighting are going up there as well.
“It’s kind of like marking time now,” said Hixson, adding that she believes North Olympic Peninsula communities have shown they are well prepared for the May-June bridge closure.
“They’re thinking ahead and figuring out what they are going to do,” she said.
Travel options
When the bridge is closed, travel options include crossing the canal via the water shuttle, free bus transit services connecting the temporary ferry dock to park and ride lots, or taking the Port Townsend-Edmonds evening ferry or the Port Townsend-Keystone ferry.
Charter flights from Port Angeles and Port Townsend to Seattle are also available.
Motorists can drive south down Hood Canal using U.S. Highway 101 and state Highway 3 to Kitsap County and Tacoma.
The Hood Canal Bridge retrofit and replacement project is nearly 90 percent complete and will improve the existing east half, making it wider, safer and more reliable, Hixson said.
For more information, visit www.hoodcanalbridge.com/.
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Port Townsend-Jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
