PORT ANGELES — Port of Port Angeles commissioners unanimously agreed Monday that the state Department of Transportation should build a new bridge over the Elwha River at a new alignment on U.S. Highway 101.
The economic impact of a detour for any length of time would be detrimental to the county’s economy and jobs, said Executive Director Karen Goschen.
In a letter from the port to the Department of Transportation, the port calls the highway “the most important transportation route on the Olympic Peninsula.”
“Losing U.S. Highway 101 would impact all aspects of commerce on the peninsula from tourism to logging, and would cause long-term or permanent negative financial impacts to our community members,” the letter says.
The Elwha River has continued to eat away at the riverbed below the old bridge since the removal of the Elwha Dam below it in 2012 and the Glines Canyon Dam above it in 2014.
Sediment from the former Lake Aldwell and Lake Mills reservoirs and high water have scoured the riverbed around the piers, which were built on gravel instead of bedrock.
Old cracks were discovered in the 90-year-old bridge, which is safe for travel but is being monitored with tilt meters, Transportation officials have said.
The state has proposed seven options for the crossing.
Goschen said the port commissioners agree none of the options that require detours or would close the bridge are acceptable.
Transportation officials estimate that option 7, the “new bridge on new alignment alternative,” would cost between $18 million and $25 million and take one to two years to complete.
After construction, traffic would be shifted onto the new bridge and the old span would be removed.
The other options are:
• 1. No build — Abandon the bridge and construct turnarounds at both ends of it. Use state highways 112 and 113 as a detour: $400,000 to $600,000; one year to build turnarounds.
• 2. Replace with state Highways 112 and 113 — Abandon the existing bridge and improve the state highways to 101 standards: $40 million to $50 million for immediate upgrades, up to $95 million to reach national standards; up to 10 years.
• 3. Alternate highway — Build a new highway between Highway 101 and Highway 112 west of the Elwha River on or near Eden Valley Road: $35 million to $45 million; two to three years.
• 4. Retrofit — Fix the existing bridge and stabilize its foundation. Existing 101 traffic would use the bridge with occasional single-lane closures and detours onto 112 and 113: $10 million to $15 million; one to two years.
• 5. Existing alignment — Remove the existing bridge and replace it at the same location. Traffic would use detours during construction: $15 million to $20 million; two to three years.
• 6. Parallel alignment — Build a new bridge adjacent to the old bridge. Existing bridge would remain open during construction: $15 million to $20 million; one to two years.
To comment on the options, go to http://tinyurl.com/PDN-elwhariver bridge. There is no deadline to comment.
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Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsula dailynews.com.
