SHINE — Tugs will remain at the Hood Canal Bridge through the weekend to help with openings of the draw span after they made the difference in creating a successful closure today.
The tugs helped keep the draw span in alignment with the bridge during a marine opening at 2:45 p.m., ensuring that it closed 15 minutes later to allow vehicular traffic to cross.
That averted a feared delay of some four hours.
Baker had warned that the bridge could be closed to motorists if the draw span became stuck during this afternoon’s opening.
On Wednesday, work on the bridge, coupled with a high tide caused the draw span to move out of alignment with the bridge by about 7 feet at about 10:30 a.m. and it couldn’t be closed to allow vehicles to cross for six hours.
Transportation officials are “relieved,” said Claudia Bingham Baker, Transportation spokeswoman, today after the successful opening.
She praised the department’s engineers, saying they tend to be “problem solvers” and that has been their approach — “finding ways to keep it operational for both mariners and motorists.”
Tugboats will help during draw span openings through Sunday, when work to replace the anchor cable located close to the draw span on the bridge is expected to be completed, Baker said.
Two draw span openings are scheduled for this weekend — at 4:45 p.m. Saturday and 10:45 a.m. Sunday.
Both of those openings will coincide with slack tides and motorists are advised to expect delays of up to 60 minutes for each.
The status of the bridge — whether it is open or closed to vehicular traffic — will be regularly updated at www.wsdot.wa.gov, Baker said.
Motorists are urged to check out the status of the Hood Canal Bridge before attempting to cross the bridge on state Highway 104.
Coast Guard regulations require Transportation to open the draw span to marine traffic within one hour’s notice.
Mariners have been asked to request draw span openings only during slack tides this weekend, but they are not required to abide by that request, Baker said.
The construction project is replacing 21 of the bridge’s 42 anchor cables.
Ten cables have been replaced, one is in the process of being replaced and 10 cables remain to be done.
Crews plan to complete the project before the storm season arrives, typically in October.
