Date:  Friday, May 22, 2009

Contact: Becky Hixson, WSDOT Communications, 360-870-8130

SHINE – WSDOT and its contractor, Kiewit-General, are pleased to announce that the SR 104 Hood Canal Bridge may open a week earlier than anticipated. Crews successfully completed the first major weather-dependent joining operation late yesterday, putting the project one step closer to opening this critical link between Jefferson and Kitsap counties ahead of the planned six-week schedule.

“We want to give our contractor and WSDOT crews a lot of credit for working through difficult weather and complicated technical issues to get us to this point,” said Paula Hammond, Washington Transportation Secretary. “This has been a very difficult project that required highly technical and precise work, and we are pleased that things have gone well.”

WSDOT and K-G used special fittings on old anchor cables to temporarily hold the new pontoons in place, brought in extra tug boats so work continued during rough weather, accelerated pontoon installation during good weather and shifted crews to new tasks when they finished jobs early.

“What really put us in a good position to know we will finish early was getting past joining pontoons UVWX and RST,” said Hood Canal Bridge Principal Engineer Dave Ziegler. “Despite wind and weather, we found a way to get the job done.”

Hard work, good planning, efficient plan implementation and – so far – no problems with the pontoon, truss and anchor cable work helped move the six-week closure ahead of schedule. But the project has more challenges ahead.

Crews are scheduled to complete the connection between pontoon RST and new draw span over the next week. This work is weather dependent so WSDOT will be in a better position to determine the re-opening date after this joining operation is completed.

WSDOT encourages people to see project photos and updates at www.HoodCanalBridge.com. This project makes the Hood Canal Bridge east-half wider, safer and more reliable.

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