New bridge stamp dated, opens Friday
By JEREMIAH O’HAGAN Staff Reporter
The bridge’s concrete sidewall was stamped with the year of completion last Tuesday as the project nears the end. PHOTO BY JEREMIAH O
WSDOT is, apparently, not very superstitious.
The new bridge is scheduled to open to traffic on Friday, Aug. 13, baring any obstructions, said Dave Chesson, spokesman for Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT).
Not that they have a reason to be superstitious — the entire project has gone smoothly and efficiently, Chesson said.
Last week, crews, subcontracted from John-Wayne Construction, finished pouring the last sidewall and stamped the date of completion, 2010, into the concrete.
In the life of a bridge, it is a fairly significant step.
To wrap it all up, crews will work through the night on Aug. 12, cutting and removing existing asphalt, grading, pouring and striping the sections that connect SR 532 to the new approaches.
Both ends of the bridges will be embroiled in activity, and drivers should expect delays beginning about 8:30 p.m. as crews shut down one lane of the old bridge and alternate traffic.
“Because there are no alternate routes around the bridge, we suggest that drivers plan ahead to travel earlier in the evening or avoid the bridge all together, if possible,” Chesson said.
The delays will last until 5:30 a.m. on Friday, when traffic should be rolling over the new bridge and the old one closed for good.
Over the next few months, the last odds and ends will be wrapped up. Forms and brackets, left over from construction, will be taken down. Work platforms near the old bridge will be finished to support the equipment and crews that will dismantle the old bridge, piece by piece.
By spring, reshaping and replanting of the ground should be finishing up and all signs of construction soon to be gone.
All that will be left is a daily commute.
Visit www.wsdot.wa.gov/
Northwest/Snohomish/Construction
for specific lane
closure information, or
www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/
sr532 for general project information.
Staff Reporter Jeremiah
O’Hagan: 629-8066 ext. 125
or ohagan@scnews.com.
