Roadwork on Deception Pass Bridge was completed ahead of schedule, which means the bridge will remain open tonight and beyond.
The Department of Transportation reported that the paving work is completed two days ahead of schedule and the nighttime closures are cancelled.
Crews will be able to complete some remaining work during nighttime, single-lane closures on the bridges from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. for the next two nights.
Flaggers from Lakeside Industries of Anacortes, the contractor working for the Washington State Department of Transportation, will guide traffic across the bridges overnight Wednesday, July 15, and Thursday, July 16. Drivers should expect delays of several minutes.
“Lakeside put in a massive effort to finish this project as quickly as possible while still maintaining high quality work,” said WSDOT Assistant Regional Administrator Todd Harrison. “They had more than 50 people on the job, and you could see them hustling to complete the project.”
During the three nights of full closures, Lakeside removed the old asphalt, checked the condition of the exposed concrete bridge decks, evaluated bridge-expansion joints and repaved the bridges. They finished paving around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday, July 15, and reopened the bridges.
During the single-lane closures the next two nights, contractor crews will finish sealing the expansion joints to keep out dirt and moisture.
“We want to thank the people who rely on these bridges for their patience during this project,” Harrison said. “We know the full closures of the bridges created challenges for a lot of people. We’re happy that people can begin to return to their routine travels.”
The bridge repaving is part of a larger project to repave sections of the highway between Frostad Road on Whidbey Island and Sharpes Corner on Fidalgo Island. The roadway paving was finished in June.
Drivers should still be prepared for occasional nighttime delays through mid-August on SR 20 between Frostad Road and Sharpes Corner. Contractor crews need to finish painting permanent striping on the highway and the bridges. No full closures are planned, but the work may require single-lane closures.
The Washington State Ferries additional evening and early morning sailings on its Mukilteo/Clinton route will continue through Thursday morning, July 16. The extra sailings were scheduled to help drivers travel to or from Whidbey Island during the nighttime bridge closures. There will be no extra early morning sailings on Friday, July 17.
