SHINE — The two-month closure of the Hood Canal Bridge is still three years away, but work on the floating span may already be an inconvenience for local businesses.
Townsend Bay Marine of Port Townsend recently lost a $100,000 work project because of wide-load restrictions on the bridge, company owner Paul Zeusche said Thursday.
The load would have been 16 feet across — almost twice the width defined by the state as “wide.”
Department of Transportation officials would allow the boat hull to cross the bridge, but only with a special permit, Zeusche said.
There was a two-week wait anticipated before the permit could be issued, he said.
Townsend Bay’s client wasn’t willing to wait two weeks and went elsewhere.
Sherry Thornton, office manager of DOT’s Port Orchard project office, said permits to cross the bridge don’t normally take that long.
The department requests a couple days’ notice, but permits can be turned around within hours if needed, she said.
The state requires any load more than 8½ feet wide to obtain a special permit to travel highways.
Restrictions on bridge
Last month, restrictions were placed on the bridge that require an additional permit for any load wider than 10 feet.
The permit to cross the bridge is free, Thornton said. It is required so truckers can be made aware of construction activities on the bridge, she added.