For state Department of Transportation officials, the arrival of the new year should have meant that construction of the Hood Canal Bridge graving yard was nearing completion.
But 11 days into 2004, officials are unsure when construction will resume at the 22-acre waterfront site, and what the delays will mean for replacing the eastern portion of the floating bridge, which had been planned for 2006.
Work on the graving yard stopped in late August after Native American remains and artifacts were found a few days after construction started.
State, federal and Lower Elwha Klallam tribal officials have been unable to reach an agreement in four months so that full construction on the site can restart.
“We don’t know how quickly we can catch up,” said Lloyd D. Brown, communication manager for the Olympic region of the state Department of Transportation.
Ron A. Lewis, manager for the Hood Canal Bridge project agrees.
“Until we reach an agreement and know how we will be workingm, it is hard to plan,” Lewis said during an interview last week.
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The rest of the story appears in the Sunday Peninsula Daily News.