PORT TOWNSEND — The state ought to close the Hood Canal Bridge more often, say foot-ferry passengers who rode to Seattle on Sunday — even though the bridge had been reopened ahead of schedule the night before.
“Our people all got on the boat [the Aqua Express] this morning,”‘ said Pat Porter at the Port Townsend Visitors Center Sunday.
“Everybody is asking, ‘Can we do this again?”‘
A round-trip voyage to and from downtown Seattle cost $15. Many people never disembarked in the city but rode the Aqua Express for a sunny day on the water.
The bridge was closed at 8 p.m. Thursday and was scheduled to remain shut until 4 a.m. today as workers rolled a new 190-foot approach span into place on the Jefferson County end.
Instead, the bridge was reopened to traffic at 10:20 p.m. Saturday because workers never encountered the glitches for which they’d built in extra time.
The state Department of Transportation will close the bridge again from 8 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 21, up to 4 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 25, to replace approach spans on the Kitsap County end.