The Dalles Bridge to Undergo Repairs
Photo Credit: Eric Muhr
This month The Dalles Bridge, the steel-truss-cantilever bridge on U.S. 197 constructed in 1953, will begin undergoing construction to repair the failing bridge deck. Resulting in nightly closures starting in March and full weekend closures starting on Labor Day 2021 through Memorial Day 2022 of the bridge from 8:00 PM Thursday nights to 6:00 AM Monday mornings.
A detour will be in place to reroute traffic through Biggs Junction during closure periods. ODOT is working with The Dalles Dam US Army Corp of Engineers to provide possible access across the dam for emergency vehicles during closure periods. Commuters should consider detouring or plan for 20 min - 2 hour delays in crossing the bridge.
“Expect to see delays and some single lane closures at night throughout the project. Flaggers will be on site when this occurs,” said ODOT officials. “Portable message boards will display construction impacts on both sides of the bridge to alert travelers.”
Source: ODOT. For updated road and traffic information visit Tripcheck.
Why Were Night & Weekend Closures Chosen?
The decision to use weekend and nightly closures was made in order to ensure the shortest overall duration of the project. The accelerated bridge construction (using the ABC method) plan involves building bridge deck sections off site and transporting them into place using large machinery. A conventional on-site build would have resulted in an 8+ month full closure of the bridge and involve replacing the bridge deck by removing the driving surface of the bridge and replacing the deck with concrete poured in its place. By utilizing the weekend closure window ODOT believes all significant bridge work requiring weekend closures can be completed between September 2021 and May of 2022. Night time only closures would have added an additional season closure the following year into 2023.
Source: ODOT
“Weekend closures are 10%-20% more cost effective than nighttime only closures due to the lost efficiencies of set-up and clean-up required each night,” said ODOT in their release about the closure. “The weekend closures will also allow for the smallest impact to commuters, and a closure during fall and winter will avoid peak tourism and harvest months.”
The total project cost is just under $41 million. Hamilton Construction won the project bid and is the contractor that will handle the construction. Washington State DOT and ODOT will split the cost of the project 50/50.
What Problem Will This Improve?
The Dalles steel-truss-cantilever bridge on U.S. 197 was constructed in 1953. This bridge crosses the Columbia River and is a crucial connection point between the Dalles, Oregon and Dallesport and Murdock, Washington. The existing bridge deck is failing and needs to be replaced. This project will remove and replace the existing concrete bridge deck and make critical safety repairs including removing and replacing the bridge rails, installing new 133-150 watt LED illumination and navigation lights system across the bridge, and installing bridge screening over the locks and BSSF railway. ODOT has said these changes are needed to maintain safe access across the bridge.
The project will also add guardrail at the bridge ends and include storm-water mitigation on I-84.
“Stormwater treatment is necessary whenever rain is likely to carry pollution off of impervious surfaces like roads and bridges,” said Kacey Davey, ODOT Public Affairs official. “Due to the added cost and complicated maintenance for collecting stormwater on the current bridge, only offsite stormwater mitigation will be used for this project. The project will construct bio-filtration swales to collect runoff within the I-84 median east of the project area.”
Source: ODOT
Watch a video of a motorcycle crossing The Dalles Bridge HERE. (Credit: Youtube:BlackDogGS)
