Date:
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Contact:
Becky Hixson, Hood Canal Bridge Project, (253) 305-6450
Lloyd Brown, WSDOT Communication Director, (360) 705-7076
Secretary Hammond sensitive to Port Gamble environmental concerns
TACOMA – Port Gamble Bay environmental concerns have prompted the Washington State Department of Transportation to adjust plans for where it will build a dock that will be used for passenger-only ferry service during the SR 104 Hood Canal Bridge closure in May and June 2009.
WSDOT is now investigating permitting, design and construction of a dock at Lofall, as well as adjusting the overall supporting transit services to accommodate the new location.
“Throughout this project we’ve been sensitive to the needs of the environment and this situation is no different,” said Secretary of Transportation Paula Hammond. “We appreciate the Lofall community’s support for a temporary dock. I know they share our excitement for the Hood Canal Bridge project as it enters its final phase.”
WSDOT managers have met with Lofall property owners over the past several weeks about the potential for using Lofall as a dock site. Lofall was the site of a ferry that operated while the west-half of the Hood Canal Bridge was replaced in the early 1980s.
The primary environmental issue at Port Gamble was the potential for the passenger-only water shuttle to stir up pollutants at the dock site, sending them into clam, oyster and geoduck beds that line the bay.
Olympic Peninsula local leaders, businesses and citizens helped develop a multi-faceted plan to lessen the effects to motorists and freight while the bridge is closed in May-June 2009. That plan, which includes passenger-only water shuttle service, transit connections, medical transportation, rideshare/vanpool options and traffic control along the alternate routes, was developed to provide ways for drivers to get around during the closure.
The Hood Canal Bridge, the longest floating bridge over saltwater in the world, is vital to economic and social success of the region. Learn more by visiting http://www.hoodcanalbridge.com/.
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Visit www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic for weather and roadway information. Highway construction and maintenance updates are available on-line www.wsdot.wa.gov/regions/olympic/construction or by calling 5-1-1.
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