A bridge that sometimes can’t close after opening during hot weather or high tides. Another bridge, its approaches built on rotting timbers. Another, its concrete deck cracking under the strain of traffic.
The list goes on, said Steve Roark, WSDOT’s Olympic Region Administrator, in a presentation to dozens of lawmakers and staffers at the Rotary Log Cabin Pavilion on Tuesday morning.
The group was taking a two-day tour of the state, highlighting the conditions of its infrastructure, beginning in Aberdeen. Roark kicked off the tour’s first stop by describing the issues of the five bridges the department maintains in Aberdeen and Hoquiam and their dire need for maintenance and repairs.
“These bridges are old. On average they’re over 78 years old,” Roark said. “All five are currently classified in our WSDOT rating program as poor.”
The five bridges open up the whole region, allowing drivers, trucks and emergency vehicles to cross the Harbor and its many rivers. Low priority for repairs or maintenance have all plagued the five working bridges, said Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen.
“It’s not partisan politics. It’s a matter of prioritization,” Walsh said in a brief interview. “The bridges in my opinion are the number-one priority for maintenance for WSDOT. We’ve got to do something.”
The needs seen here in the county are being felt across the state, said Evan Grimm, WSDOT’s bridges and structures engineer.
“We do have a list of needs. That list of needs is too long to be able to do,” Grimm said. “There’s not enough resources and not enough contractors in the state, frankly, to do it in a short amount of time.”
Grimm said the need for Grays Harbor is especially dire; in an ideal world, WSDOT would replace some of the more aged examples.
“We’d like to replace two or three of these five bridges now,” Grimm said. “But we can’t, realistically.”
Grimm said the historical nature of some of the bridges is something that’s nice to maintain.
“They look old. They’ve got a certain historical look to them,” Grimm said. “We’re proud to be a part of them.”
Walsh echoed the sentiment.
“It’s like owning a vintage car. Optimally we’d like the bridges to be maintained in a historical way, but make sure they’re safe,” Walsh said. “I don’t want to bulldoze the character of these bridges. They’re beautiful.”
Grimm praised the maintenance teams for their work operating and maintaining the crossings.
“We’re working hand in hand with the maintenance crews in this area,” Grimm said. “Those maintenance workers are the frontline. They know the bridges very well. We have big respect for those maintenance crews.”
Contact Senior Reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or mlockett@thedailyworld.com.
Michael S. Lockett / The Daily World WSDOT engineer Evan Grimm talks to a crowd of legislators and staffers at the Rotary Log Cabin Pavilion about the state of the county’s WSDOT-operated bridges on Tuesday morning.
Michael S. Lockett / The Daily World WSDOT engineer Evan Grimm talks to a crowd of legislators and staffers at the Rotary Log Cabin about the state of the county’s WSDOT-operated bridges on Tuesday morning.
