Whidbey Island’s famous Deception Pass bridge will temporarily lead to nowhere for five nights starting tonight.
The state Department of Transportation will have five nightly closures to repave the Deception Pass and Canoe Pass bridges as part of a State Highway 20 repaving project starting at 7:30 p.m. today, July 12.
In efforts to alleviate delays, the Washington State Ferries have expanded off-island service.
Portions of the highway from Frostad Road to Sharpes Corner have already begun to be repaved or repaired, although road closures so far have been limited to single-lane closures and overnights.
Complete overnight closures on Deception Pass and Canoe bridges will begin 7:30 p.m. Sunday, July 12-17. Each night will see a 10-hour closure running from 7:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.
“Our contractor needs to d
o this work on five consecutive nights, starting on a Sunday,” said WSDOT spokesperson Tom Pearce in a news release this week. The schedule is extremely weather dependent. Rain or cool temperatures could delay the start of work a week or more.”
Pearce said that because the bridge deck is just 22 feet wide, it is too narrow to allow both paving equipment and traffic at the same time.
Washington State Ferries will operate extra evening and early-morning sailings on its Clinton/Mukilteo route during the closures, including:
- Leaving Clinton at 9 p.m., 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30 a.m.
- Leaving Mukilteo at 9:30 p.m., 2, 3 and 4 a.m.
“This is critical work to maintain these 80-year-old bridges and keep them open for drivers,” Pearce said. “It’s been about 20 years since we last rehabilitated these bridges, and the decks are worn out. They have cracks and ruts and minor damage below the surface. If we don’t repair them before there is further damage, the pavement will continue to deteriorate. That could create a safety hazard for drivers or require unscheduled emergency closures with little or no notice to drivers.”
Project delays will be posted on the project website, on Facebook and on the WSDOT traffic Twitter feed @wsdot_traffic.
More information and updates can be found at the project website at www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/sr20/frostadsharpespaving.
