Eighth Street Bridges — February?

The City of Port Angeles and Exeltech, the project manager, are now estimating February 2nd as the date the two Eighth Street bridges will be open. This estimate is based on not having any weather-related delays.

This project has taken longer than originally expected, but so far it’s still within its $24.6 million budget. $21.6 million is from the State Department of Transportation; $3 million is from city funding.

The construction company, Parsons RCI, has requested additional funding to cover the increased costs of materials. Glen Cutler, Public Works Director, expects the project to stay within budget even after approving the additional money to Parsons.

Part of the delay has been the result of having to redesign the foundation abutment because of poor soil on the west side of the Tumwater Creek Bridge.

Downtown Port Angeles A Mess

Well, it worked. Let’s see, we’ll tear down both of the Eighth Street bridges at the same time. This will funnel all cross-town traffic through downtown Port Angeles. Then, at the same time, we’ll schedule the construction work on our downtown $14 million bus depot.

And that’s not all: Let’s also schedule downtown sidewalk construction at the same time, so that the main 2-lane streets can be narrowed to one lane. Everyone who's trying to get from Point A to Point B will have to go downtown, and when they get there they’ll have to sit in a traffic jam. A Perfect Storm.

One merchant on Front Street said he asked several weeks ago how long that lane on Front Street would be closed, and they told him “two more weeks.” A few days ago they told him again “two more weeks.” Next summer they’ll probably be saying “two more weeks.”

And now apparently several state regulations prohibit the city government from providing any economic assistance to downtown merchants whose businesses are suffering as a result. Too bad there weren’t any state agencies to intervene when Port Angeles was scheduling all of these projects for the exact same time.

Tumwater Truck Route Closing. Again.

The Tumwater Truck Route will be closed Wednesday through Friday of this week. It'll be closed again from December 3rd through the 7th.

Front, First and Lincoln Streets will be open and more crowded than ever.

The two Eighth Street Bridges are supposed to be open on November 1st, 2008. The bridges are supposed to have bike lanes and sidewalks, which will be an improvement over the old bridges.

No Money For Local Infrastructure

The Elwha River Bridge has been permanently closed in the wake of the Minnesota tragedy. This bridge would have been closed in two weeks anyway for demolition, but they’ve decided to play it safe and close it early.

A total of eleven bridges — two in Jefferson County, nine in Clallam County — are “structurally deficient” according to the Federal Highway Administration. This includes the two Eighth Street bridges in Port Angeles.

So, how high a priority should our infrastructure be? Are there any other government expenditures — local, state, national — that you think are getting too much taxpayer money while our infrastructure crumbles? What government undertakings would you reduce or eliminate in order to free up funding to fix our collapsing bridges and highways?

Information on Eighth Street Bridges

Next Thursday, July 26th from 4:30 to 7 p.m. there will be an open house regarding the eighth street bridge closures. It will be held at the city council chambers, 321 East Fifth Street.

If you have questions about the construction schedule, traffic revisions, detour routes, etc., this meeting should have the information you need. Representatives from the city will be at the meeting as well as representatives from Exeltech, the construction management firm handling the project. The public will be able to talk informally and/or provide written comments. There will be a short presentation on the project, followed by a question and answer session.

Check here for more information.