Date:  Thursday, April 02, 2009

Contact: Kim Mueller, Assistant Project Engineer, 360-412-3422
              Kelly Stowe, WSDOT Communications, 360-357-2716

NISQUALLY – Crews begin structural repairs to the northbound I-5 Nisqually River Bridge later this month.

“This is a special kind of work,” said Kim Mueller, assistant project engineer. “Most bridge repairs fall under the seismic retrofit or routine maintenance categories. The bridge is strong and stable, but we’re making structural repairs to extend its service life.”

Crews will repair steel stringers that support the bridge deck and sidewalk. Other work includes replacing a portion of an expansion joint, modifying joints between concrete panels on the bridge deck and repairs to the steel trusses.

WSDOT awarded the $582,577 repair contract to Mowat Construction of Woodinville on March 30. This project supports an estimated six jobs.

When work begins later this month, motorists can expect nighttime lane closures but they may not see work crews. Most of the work takes place on the underside of the bridge, out of the sight of traffic. The lanes above the stringer repairs close when crews are working.

The northbound Nisqually River Bridge was originally built in 1937 and then rebuilt in 1982. On average, 112,000 vehicles cross the bridge each day

The safety of bridge structures in Washington state is ensured through a meticulous inspection system, incorporating state and local agency inspection contributions. The condition of all bridge decks, superstructures and substructures are rated based on these inspections.

Most bridges – state and local – are inspected every two years. WSDOT inspected 1,909 state and local agency-owned bridges in 2008. This year, we are scheduled to inspect 2,018 bridges, including 59 underwater bridge inspections performed by WSDOT’s specialized bridge inspection dive team. For more information about WSDOT's bridge inspection program, please visit: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Bridge/Reporting/Inspection.htm

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