Date:  Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Contact:
Kim Mueller, WSDOT Project Engineer, 360-412-3422
Jamie Swift, WSDOT Communications, 360-357-2703

SHELTON – The US 101 Purdy Creek Bridge has been plagued for decades by flooding that damages the roadway and shuts down the bridge to traffic two or three times a year.

Not anymore.

WSDOT completed a $9.5 million construction project – paid for with federal bridge replacement and state gas tax funds – that replaced the old 1931 timber-trestle bridge with a new bridge featuring wider lanes and shoulders than its predecessor.

“We’d like to thank the drivers and local community who have endured the construction for the past year,” said Kevin Dayton, Olympic Region Administrator. “These are the same folks that have had to deal with the flooded highway year after year, and we think they will be quite pleased with the new structure."

The new Purdy Creek Bridge is 12.5 feet higher and more than three times as long as the old bridge, allowing flood waters to pass beneath the span – keeping the highway open and traffic moving.

Quigg Brothers, Inc. of Aberdeen was the contractor on this project. Quigg Brothers and the WSDOT project team broke ground in July 2008 and completed the project on time and under budget.

“The workers and management team of Quiqq Brothers, Inc. did an amazing job and were excellent to work with,” said Dayton. “The partnership we developed allowed us to work together and build this project as efficiently as possible.”

Ribbon-cutting ceremony
Officials from WSDOT, the Skokomish Tribe, and federal, state and county government celebrate the completion of the new US 101 Purdy Creek Bridge with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, Sept. 3. The event begins at 9 a.m. at the George Adams Salmon Hatchery, near the new bridge, at 40 W. Skokomish Valley Rd., in Shelton.

Online project information: www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/us101/purdycreekbridge/

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