THE GORGE — If you plan on crossing the Hood River Bridge in the wee hours of mid to late August, you’d best check the port’s website first to avoid delays.
The Hood River-White Salmon Bridge Authority will be conducting geotechnical work near the Washington shore starting in mid-August. This will require full bridge closures between 11:30 p.m. and 5 a.m. from Aug. 17-20 (final closure ends at 5 a.m. Aug. 20), Aug. 26-28 (final closure ends 5 a.m. Aug. 28), Aug. 31-Sept. 4 (final closure ends at 5 a.m. Sept. 4) and Sept. 8-11 (final closure ends at 5 a.m. Sept. 11).
The bridge will be open until 11:30 p.m. each night. There’s no impact to daytime travel.
Night-time closures will allow contractors to lower geotechnical drilling equipment to explore riverbed composition between the BNSF railroad tracks and Columbia River, adjacent to the bridge. One of many piers for the future bridge will be placed nearby. There’s no ground access to that location, explained Michael Shannon, project director with the bridge authority. The final round of closures will allow contractors to retrieve the drilling equipment.
The Port of Hood River is conducting the closures at the request of the bridge authority, which is a separate, bi-state entity responsible for building and ultimately maintaining a new bridge. The Port of Hood River owns, operates and maintains the existing bridge.
Construction of the new bridge, contingent on federal funding, is anticipated to start in October 2027 with targeted completion in 2031. Details are available at www.hoodriverbridge.org.
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