The Washington State Department of Transportation kept the Tacoma Narrows Bridge closed in both directions into the early evening yesterday to remove a 30-ton crane that tipped over Monday morning in the bridge’s eastbound lane. The bridge is closed to all traffic, including bicyclists and pedestrians.
WSDOT had previously announced an expected 2 p.m. re-opening of the bridge, but removing the crane is taking longer than expected. WSDOT completely closed the bridge starting at 10 a.m.
At press time, eastbound State Route (SR) 16 was closed at the SR 302 spur (local traffic only will be allowed on SR 16 from the SR 302 spur to the 36th Street NW exit), and westbound SR 16 was closed at Jackson Avenue.
Earlier, crews closed all westbound lanes to westbound traffic at Jackson Avenue, and those lanes will remain closed for westbound traffic until the bridge is reopened. Eastbound traffic used the westbound lanes from approximately 8:30 a.m. until 10 a.m. to relieve eastbound traffic volumes.
The alternate eastbound route from Gig Harbor was accessed by motorists using SR 302 to SR 3 to US 101 to I-5. SR 16 traffic traveling toward Gig Harbor can take I-5 to US 101 to SR 3 to SR 302.
The Washington State ferry system provides the following alternative routes for motorists: Westbound – Pt. Defiance to Tahlequah to Southworth; Eastbound – Bremerton to Seattle; Eastbound – Southworth, Tahlequah to Pt. Defiance (Tacoma).
We are very grateful to the motorists for their patience. We know what a huge inconvenience this has been and we’re doing the best we can, said Linea Laird, Tacoma Narrows Bridge project manager. We appreciate their support and are asking for more patience as we try to safely remove the crane without damaging the bridge or injuring people.
The crane was being used to remove a temporary enclosure on the lowest strut of the existing bridges Tacoma tower. Work had wrapped up for the morning and the contractors crew was de-mobilizing from the site when, while turning, the crane tipped over in the eastbound lane at approximately 3:15 a.m. The cranes 50-foot boom fell across the bridges sidewalk and handrail, damaging both.
