Work on Vantage Bridge begins this week
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 years, 5 months AGO
The Vantage Bridge over the Columbia River will have its deck replaced over the next couple of years with completion expected in 2027.
FILE PHOTO
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | March 11, 2024 6:03 PM
VANTAGE — The Vantage Bridge will be subject to single-lane closures beginning this week as crews start a multiyear project to replace the bridge deck.
“Until the end of May travelers will experience single-lane closures Monday through Friday,” wrote Megan Lott, communications officer for the Washington Department of Transportation, in a press release.
Starting at the end of May one lane will be closed seven days per week during the construction period, with some exceptions, she wrote.
Both lanes of the bridge will be open from 7 a.m. May 24 through 8 p.m. May 28 (Memorial Day weekend), the week of July 1-8, and 7 a.m. Aug. 30 through 8 p.m. Sept. 3 (Labor Day weekend).
Drivers are being asked to take the construction into account when they make travel plans, Lott wrote.
“Travelers will experience long delays eastbound on Fridays and westbound on Sundays during the summer travel months, and are encouraged to take alternate routes,” she wrote.
Both lanes will be open from November through April.
Crews are working on building an access point under the bridge. The bridge deck will be replaced with precast concrete panels to minimize closures and delays, she wrote.
“The contractor will be replacing the entire bridge deck and work in sections. The work will include removing the deteriorating sections of the bridge deck, placing new precast segments, then pouring concrete to connect the two joints to create a smooth new surface across the bridge,” Lott wrote in a 2023 email to the Columbia Basin Herald. “Contractor crews also will be making improvements to drainage.”
The project cost is about $79 million, according to information on the WSDOT website. Crews will be working from April through October, Lott wrote, and completion is scheduled for fall 2027.
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