Washington – On early Sunday morning, the State Route 104 Hood Canal Bridge was closed after experiencing a mechanical malfunction during a marine opening. The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) got in charge of the situation until the bridge was finally reopened seven hours later.

The Hood Canal Bridge was raised at eight a.m. to allow marine traffic through. While lowering the bridge, a malfunction on its western half did not let the full closure of the structure. Authorities closed the bridge in both directions to vehicle and marine traffic at 8:17 a.m.

On early Sunday morning, the State Route 104 Hood Canal Bridge was closed after experiencing a mechanical malfunction during a marine opening. Photo credit: Washington State DOT
On early Sunday morning, the State Route 104 Hood Canal Bridge was closed after experiencing a mechanical malfunction during a marine opening. Photo credit: Washington State DOT

In a press release posted by the WSDOT, the department informed at ten a.m. that their crews were in the process of manually closing the bridge. Bridge engineers and bridge crews were brought to manage the physical closure, WSDOT Spokeswoman Cara Mitchell said, according to Komo News. She also stated that they did not force it to open because they do not want to damage the bridge.

“WSDOT apologizes the inconvenience this potential delay poses to travelers and will make every effort to reopen the bridge to vehicular traffic as soon as possible. Federal regulations require WSDOT to open the drawspan to mariners within one hour’s notice,” the state agency posted on its blog.

The Hood Canal Bridge is one of the longest floating bridges in the world, with 7,869 feet long. The structure connects the Seattle-Tacoma area, the Kitsap County, and the Olympic Peninsula. In a typical weekend, about 16,000 vehicles circulate on the bridge.

The closing process took almost seven hours

When the WSDOT arrived by ten a.m. informed the public that the process could take hours, and there was not an estimated time of reopening. The WSDOT bridge camera showed that the western part of the bridge got stuck.

The WSDOT bridge camera showed at 12:30 that the portion of the bridge that suffered the mechanical malfunction was in a lower position after the efforts of manually lowering and closing the bridge. By two p.m. the bridge camera let see how the position of the span of the bridge changed, though the agency still did not inform when the problem would be completely solved, or what generated the malfunction.

At 2:40 p.m. the WSDOT updated its blog to announce that bridge engineers managed to lower the span completely after dissembling a guide on the bridge. To reopen the structure for vehicle circulation, the engineering crew had to reinstall the guide and make a complete inspection.

At 2:55 p.m. the state agency announced that the Hood Canal Bridge was finally open to traffic. However, the reason for the mechanical malfunction was never stated.

Source: Ptleader.com