The Simpson Avenue Bridge across the Hoquiam River was rendered nonfunctional by an electrical malfunction, causing heavy backups on both sides of the river Monday afternoon before being fixed.
The fault lasted about three hours as crews isolated and sorted the fault, said April Leigh, a communications consultant for the Washington State Department of Transportation — Olympic Region.
“It’s called a limit switch and it was out of position. They were able to put it back in position and open the bridge,” Leigh said in a phone interview. “It’s part of the interlocking safety system. It’s used for controlling machinery. It’s part of the electrical system that opens and closes the bridge.”
The bridge was reported as malfunctioning between 1 and 1:30 p.m., Leigh said. WSDOT crews were able to find and correct the fault and restore it to full function by around 4:30 p.m. The issue with the limit switch is an uncommon one, Leigh said, which took crews time to work out.
“We were able to establish a plan for alternating traffic on Riverside Avenue,” said Chief Joe Strong of the Hoquiam Police Department. “After a couple hours we were able to reroute traffic so it was flowing for both directions on Riverside Avenue.”
Michael S. Lockett / The Daily World A log truck makes its way down Riverside Avenue as Hoquiam Police Department and Public Works Department personnel directed alternating flows of traffic to ease pressure from a bridge malfunction.
All available personnel from HPD and Hoquiam Public Works responded to the situation, directing traffic and helping to clear the drivers. The bridge fault occurred as schools were letting out and a clam tide brought heavy westbound traffic toward the shore, Strong said.
WSDOT crews were on-scene on Tuesday as well as they worked to determine the cause of the problem, Leigh said.
“Bridge crews are out there again this morning,” Leigh said. “They’re trying to determine why the limit switch fell out of place.”
An uncommon issue disabled a Hoquiam drawbridge for several hours Monday while Washington State Department of Transportation personnel worked to isolate and correct the fault. Michael S. Lockett / The Daily World
Crews also had to fix a barrier gate on the bridge after a driver going in the wrong direction struck it, Leigh said. The driver who struck the gate fled the scene, Strong said.
“We work very hard to maintain (Grays Harbor County) bridges. Bridge preservation is very important,” Leigh said. “Every single bridge on the harbor is different. They all have different mechanisms.”
Traffic was rerouted by Hoquiam police during the event, with cars sent down Riverside Avenue against the regular flow of traffic to bleed off congestion in Hoquiam. Only one collision occurred, Strong said.
The timing of a bridge malfunction in Hoquiam Monday afternoon made for heavy traffic while police and public works crews directed alternating flows of traffic to bleed off pressure. (Michael S. Lockett / The Daily World)
“We had one log truck that deviated from the established route in order to avoid traffic and that resulted in damage to a city light pole,” Strong said.
A similar fault to the limiting switch issue that disabled the Riverside Bridge also affected the Chehalis Bridge between Aberdeen and South Aberdeen approximately a month ago, Leigh said. A nighttime maritime opening left the bridge in the open position, and crews inspecting the problem found a seating switch was out of place.
Contact reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or mlockett@thedailyworld.com.
