PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – The Lewis and Clark Bridge that connects Rainier, Oregon to Longview, Washington will shut down for up to eight days for scheduled deck repairs beginning July 16, the Oregon Department of Transportation said.
During the closure, crews will replace two bridge expansion joints and a fracture floor beam. These joints allow the bridge to expand and contract without resistance.
Within the past few years, the Washington Department of Transportation said inspectors determined the finger joints were failing, causing the beams on the bridge to warp.
WSDOT also believes the failing finger joints were what caused the fractured floor beam that will be fixed. In April, an emergency bridge closure happened after the fractured floor beam was discovered. WSDOT said they applied a “temporary fix.”
The Lewis and Clark Bridge is the only bridge that connects Rainier directly to Longview. During the closure, drivers will need to detour to either the Highway 1010 Astoria-Megler Bridge or the Interstate Bridge between Portland and Vancouver.
Depending on people’s starting point and destination, using the detour routes can add upwards of two and a half hours of travel time.
The Wahkiakum County Ferry between Cathlamet, Washington and Westport, Oregon will run twice an hour 24 hours a day while the bridge is closed, ODOT said. However, the ferry has extremely limited capacity and should only be used for urgent matters that do not require an ambulance, ODOT said.
“There is no good time to close a bridge, and the vital importance of the Lewis and Clark Bridge to Washington and Oregon communities cannot be overstated,” said WSDOT Southwest Region Administrator Carley Francis. “Our goal is to do this repair work right and re-open the bridge to travelers as soon as safely possible.”
ODOT said it knows the bridge closure may create hardships for people who live along the Columbia River and may require residents to reschedule medical and other important appointments.
During the bridge closure, pedestrians, bicyclists and emergency responders will be able to cross. The only time emergency vehicles will not be able to cross is when crews are installing the new floor beam.
To set the new expansion joints in place, crews will pour concrete which needs four days to cure and strengthen without cars moving and disturbing it. The replacement of the floor beam also requires no traffic on the bridge, ODOT said.
All construction work on the bridge that occurs before and after the closure will be done at night using single-lane closures. This overnight construction will last five weeks and will begin June 12, before the eight-day bridge closure begins at 8 p.m. on Sunday, July 16.
The single-lane closures will not occur during the Fourth of July holiday weekend.