HOOD RIVER — There’s good news and bad news for motorists crossing the Hood River-White Salmon Bridge over the next couple of months.
The good news: Contractors will soon start driving piles just downstream from the bridge, part of a test program to help ensure later construction doesn’t harm the existing structure.
The bad news: Preparatory work, combined with two unrelated maintenance projects on the old span, will require more rounds of night-time and day-time, full and single-lane bridge closures through November and early December.
About half the funding for the new, $1.12 billion bridge is secured. The biggest uncertainty now is the fate of a $532 million federal grant, which could arrive any day now ... or not at all. While it awaits word, the Hood River-White Salmon Bridge Authority is conducting as much work as possible with funding on hand to avoid delays if and when final dollars are awarded.
Part of this is a “test pile” program, involving placement of temporary piles where later, permanent piers will stand. On rare but unfortunate occasions elsewhere, adjacent construction has destabilized older bridges; the test pile program will collect data on vibration and other factors to monitor any effects from test pile placement. (Sensors on the old bridge have been collecting baseline data all year.)
“To my mind this is cheap insurance for us,” said Mike Fox, one of the bridge authority’s 11 commissioners. “We’re building a new one right next to it.” Pile driving starts in late December or January, contingent on permits. Work stops if adverse effects arise. Cranes will be anchored just west of the current bridge to drive and later remove the temporary piles.
Portland-based Advanced American Construction, Inc., will conduct the test program through a $3,333,140 contract awarded at the bridge authority’s Oct. 29 meeting. That’s $3.6 million less than the initial cost estimate, and it will come from savings already achieved through earlier design cost under-runs. Advanced American is already working just downstream on a Burlington Northern bridge replacement at the White Salmon River confluence, a key factor contributing to the company’s low bid.
Related work begins in early November through a separate contract to Oregon-based Extreme Access, which will work with HNTB, the bridge’s project manager, to assess existing conditions on the current bridge. The contract is not to exceed $40,000. HNTB will conduct the inspections; Extreme Access will install the safety gear. This will affect bridge traffic throughout the day from Nov. 10-13 as workers scale and inspect the bridge’s century-old steel frames. The inspections gather additional baseline data for the test pile program.
A detailed schedule and closure updates are posted to the bridge authority’s project website.
Meanwhile, unrelated maintenance on the old bridge will bring more closures. These begin Nov. 2 with overnight, full closures Monday through Friday from midnight to 5:30 a.m. until Nov. 13, and daytime, single-lane closures from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. until Nov. 6. Additional singe-lane, daytime closures are scheduled periodically through Dec. 11. These contracts are through the Port of Hood River, for bridge coating and steel maintenance.
All of the closures and restrictions are weather dependent. Travelers should check the port and bridge authority websites for details, or register to receive updates. The bridge project website is hoodriverbridge.org/ and the port’s news website is www.portofhoodriver.com/news-alerts.
The bridge authority is responsible for bridge replacement and long-term operation; the Port of Hood River owns the current bridge, and is a key partner in the replacement effort.
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