PORT ANGELES — The eastbound lane of the Eighth Street bridge over Valley Creek will be closed for about five hours beginning at 8 a.m. today to make room for repairing a damaged guardrail.
Flaggers will control the alternating traffic across the bridge.
About 120 feet of the guardrail on the bridge’s south side was “peeled apart” the evening of Dec. 13 when a truck sideswiped it.
The city’s Public Works Department had to search for a supplier who carries replacement materials for the 1930s-era span.
Getting replacement parts was made more difficult because the bridge was damaged twice within three days.
A Dec. 11 wreck damaged a shorter section of the bridge, but the damage was more extensive.
In that incident, a pickup truck rolled over into the railing, damaging the walkway and outer guardrail as well as the guardrail separating pedestrians from traffic.
The city has been planning to replace the bridge and its companion span over Tumwater Creek since 2003.
The contract for the estimated $20 million project is expected to be awarded late January or early February.
Construction could begin in the spring or early summer of 2006. It is expected to last about 19 months and be finished by the late fall of 2007.
For more information about today’s repair work, contact Mark Ray, street and parks division lead worker, at 360-417-4827 or at publicworks@cityofpa.us.