Tacoma City Council Tuesday approved a purchase resolution that awards a three-year, $546,000 contract to Orion Marine Contractors of Tacoma to operate and maintain the Hylebos Bridge, a double-leaf bascule bridge that spans the Hylebos Waterway on East 11th Street and has been out of service for more than a decade.

In early 2001, a drive shaft on the northeast bascule leaf failed, rendering the bridge inoperable. In order to allow ship navigation to continue on the Hylebos Waterway, cables were used to hold the two bascule leaves in the open position. The leaves have remained in the open position since then. A subsequent fire in 2004 inside the northeast bascule pier caused additional damage to the Bridge, including its mechanical and electrical control systems. A bridge inspection conducted in August 2005 noted that the existing bridge approaches, support structure, fender system and electrical system are in poor condition and need to be replaced in addition to the repairs required for the bascule span and drive system. In 2009, a $15.3 million contract was awarded to Quigg Bros, Inc. to repair the bridge and restore service. The project was funded by the City of Tacoma, the Federal Highway Administration, and the Port of Tacoma.

Last November, city officials anticipated the bridge would be opened by the end of last month and within the established budget. “Public Works, with reasonable certainty, anticipates construction will be complete by the end of February 2012,” noted then-interim City Manager Rey Arellano in his weekly report to City Council dated Nov. 3. “It also appears the project will be within the $25.72 million budget as approved by the Council. We are working on finding an operator for the Hylebos Bridge to comply with U.S. Coast Guard regulations.”

The completion date, however, has since been revised. The bridge work is expected to be completed in late-April and open to traffic in mid-May.

Historically, the bridge was operated on an on-call basis. Vehicle traffic levels are expected to be lower than historical levels due to the re-routing of State Route 509 and the removal of the Blair Bridge. Since the Hylebos Bridge has been closed for 10 years and there is no data available regarding current marine traffic, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) is requiring that the bridge be operated 24 hours per day until such time as an alternate operations schedule is approved. In response to this requirement, the contractor will operate and maintain the bridge 24 hours per day, seven days a week, for the first year. After the first six months of operation, the City can petition the USCG for approval to operate on a reduced schedule or an on-call basis. Reduced operations would likely start the second year.

For more information about the Hylebos Bridge project, visit http://www.cityoftacoma.org/hylebosbridge .

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Tacoma City Council could pick Hylebos Bridge operator Tuesday (03/05/12) — http://tacomadailyindex.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=88&cat=23&id=2125801&more=0

Hylebos Bridge project could be completed in February (11/07/11) — http://www.tacomadailyindex.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=88&cat=23&id=2064985&more=0

Hylebos Bridge rehab project reaches milestone (08/15/11) — http://www.tacomadailyindex.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=88&cat=23&id=2021757&more=0

City Hall provides updates on key infrastructure projects (08/02/11) — http://www.tacomadailyindex.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=88&cat=23&id=2015622&more=0