Bridge crews plan winter break

Recent high winds blew apart bridge project scheduling at Deception Pass. According to state Department of Transportation (WSDOT) Project Engineer Shane Spahr, the contractor doing work on the two iconic spans was hoping to finish painting the Canoe Pass bridge this year. “However, due to a number of factors, unless we get some really nice weather they probably won’t be able to,” he said. “The tarps on Canoe were damaged by the recent windstorm. The tarps around the middle section of Canoe were the oldest, and had been exposed to the elements the longest, so the wind caused them to rub and tear on some of the steel. The plan now is to shut down operations for the winter sometime in November or December and restart in March.” Protective tarp wraps will remain, lowered or raised depending on work schedule. When the tarps are finally removed, passersby will see finished painting (Canoe Bridge first). At this time, all of Canoe Bridge has at least one coat of new paint on it, and some of the areas have two coats. But it still needs the third coat, which will be green as it was before the project began. The two bridges were opened in 1935, forever changing life on Whidbey Island.