SHINE — The eastern half of the Hood Canal Bridge won’t fall apart before its scheduled replacement in mid-2006.
The draw span may not always close and the concrete supporting the roadway shows signs of wear and tear, but the bridge, which opened in 1961, isn’t going to implode into itself.
However, state officials concede the eastern half of the bridge is “vulnerable” to a major event like the Feb.13, 1979, windstorm that sank the western half. That storm carried sustained hurricane force winds of 85 mph with gusts of 120 mph.
The rebuilt western half opened in October 1982.
Speculation was that some of the hatches on the western half blew open during the storm and filled with water, but Ron Lewis, Hood Canal Bridge project engineer for the state Department of Transportation, said it is difficult to determine what really happened.
Future speculation
What happens in the bridge’s future can also be a subject for speculation,
“You’re dealing with mother nature here,” said Lewis. “You can’t know what to expect.
Lewis’ remarks came during a tour to show Peninsula Daily News reporters the state of the bridge Thursday morning.
“This bridge could sink tomorrow or it could be here another 10 to 15 years,” Lewis said.
State officials say the eastern part of the bridge must be replaced by 2006, Lewis said.
However that schedule could be jeopardized by the work stoppage at the graving yard in Port Angeles.
Lewis, who is also in charge of the graving yard part of the project, said there’s no way to be sure what effect the work stoppage will have on the replacement schedule.
“Everyone asks, but there’s no way to answer until we know when the work (at the graving yard) can start again,” Lewis said.
He acknowledged there are built-in delays at each site to accommodate fisheries issues and weather conditions that could magnify the current work stoppage in Port Angeles.
On the 42-year-old eastern half, chunks of concrete, up to a foot long, have fallen off the supports holding up the road. Such large pieces are an exception, but the deck at water level is littered with rock-sized chunks.
By and large, the supports are in good shape.
Concrete patches
Patches have been made to seal and reinforce the most severely affected supports. Rusted rebar, made of braided strands of steel, shows through some of the places where the concrete has fallen away, like bark from a tree.
The inside of the pontoons which allow the bridge to float, aside from being damp inside, are leak-free.
Lewis said the bridge undergoes a formal inspection yearly.
The 21-year-old western half is in better shape.
That can be attributed to advances in concrete and rebar technology, Lewis said.
The reason pieces of concrete are cracking off the eastern side is because seawater has soaked into the concrete and corroded the steel rebar inside.
That corrosion has caused the steel to expand, in some places cracking the concrete molded around the steel, Lewis said.
A $204 million plan launched in 1997 calls for the replacement of the older eastern half and a retrofit of the western half.
As part of the work, the bulge near the middle of the bridge will be removed.
The bridge will be a straight-away because the east side draw span will be changed to operate like the west side. To open the 600-foot span, the road surface on each side will rise as the lower portion rolls underneath it.
Currently, the draw portion of the east side rolls into the bulge area.
During bad weather, logs are often thrown onto the deck underneath the road, Lewis said.
Four lanes eventually
As part of the retrofit, mechanical equipment that operates the draw bridge will be replaced and the bridge will be widened so it can accommodate four lanes in the future.
Lewis said the bridge carries an average of 18,800 cars daily and the projection for 2006 is 20,000 cars a day.
Adding the other two lanes won’t happen immediately, Lewis said.
Structures like the Hood Canal Bridge are built with a life expectancy of between 75-100 years, Lewis said, but the need to increase capacity often takes place much sooner.
Reporter Jim Manders contributed to this story.