WSDOT to drivers: you can cross after all

Published 6:00 am Monday, February 19, 2007

Construction crews at the Agate Passage Bridge will allow three crossings per night – at 11:30 p.m., 1 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. – during a three week repair project scheduled to begin next month. State Department of Transportation officials had said the bridge would be closed completely to car traffic between the hours of 10 p.m. and 4 a.m., Sunday through Thursday, from March 4 to March 29, while crews repair damage caused last April by an errant crane.

The decision to allow three crossings was announced late Friday afternoon, after a number of citizens and officials raised concerns about the imminent closure.

“This revised plan might extend our timeline for repair a bit, but it gives people a few more opportunities to use their regular route to get where they need to go,” said Chris Keegan, WSDOT operations engineer. Crews may need to return for a couple of days in the fall to complete the repairs.

Crews will still pare traffic to one lane during the two hours before and after each closure.