Date:  Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Contact: Joe Irwin, Hood Canal Bridge Communications, 253-305-6412 
             Becky Hixson, Hood Canal Bridge Communications, 253-305-6450

SEATTLE – The Hood Canal Bridge Project got a huge lift today – two, actually.

The bridge’s second and third lift span sections arrived in Seattle’s Elliot Bay about 4 a.m. today, completing a 358-mile, 46-hour trip that began early Monday morning in Vancouver, Wash. They were secured to the Hood Canal Bridge’s new east-half draw span about 7:30 a.m. at Todd Pacific Shipyards (TPS) and are being readied for installation.

Foss Tugboats, which delivered the first lift span to TPS June 9, made sure the two 104-foot-long, 75-foot-wide sections arrived safely. WSDOT and contractor Kiewit General (K-G) will place them in the draw span once crews jack – or elevate – the 210-ton sections. Installation work is scheduled to conclude this Friday.

WSDOT and K-G can then begin finalizing columns and installing the hydraulics needed to raise and lower the lift spans as the draw span moves in and out of the u-shaped assembly. Crews hope to have the lift span ready to test in September.

“Making sure the draw span is working before we take it to the bridge site is essential to the success of this project” said TPS Site Manager Greg Meadows. “Doing this work now will enable us to finish the bridge replacement work within the six-week bridge closure.”

The steel sections were fabricated at Oregon Iron Works in Vancouver and feature galvanized coating and three additional coats of paint to protect them from the harsh marine environment of the Hood Canal.

The arrival of all three lift spans moves the bridge project one step closer to the May-June 2009 float-in. The entire project is now 77 percent complete.

The Hood Canal Bridge retrofit and replacement project will improve the existing structure, making it wider, safer and more reliable. For more information, visit http://www.hoodcanalbridge.com/.

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Editors note: View video footage of first lift span’s arrival at http://www.hoodcanalbridge.com/.

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