Port moves forward after bridge collision incident | News

HOOD RIVER – The Port of Hood River Commission met for the second time since a truck collided with the lift bridges on June 27. An emergency meeting was held on Sunday, June 30, to approve contracts for design and repairs.

At the beginning of the regular meeting, Port Commissioner Mike Fox gave an update on the aesthetics of the new bridge.

“There will be significant changes in the look of the new bridge. We’re moving from concrete to steel,” Fox said. “This will allow us to reduce the number of piers in the water, which means we can extend the spans a little bit. And it will be cheaper than the concrete option.”

Greenwood welcomed engineer Justin Doorinink of Henningson, Durham & Richardson, Inc. (HDR), who provided a brief summary of the incident response and an update on the timeline for permanent repairs. At the July 16 meeting, he reviewed HDR’s post-collision recommendations to exclude tractor-trailer traffic and allow marine traffic to pass under the lift.

Doorinink and his staff had been working daily with Kiewit Construction, holding meetings and discussions on how to efficiently and safely complete the bridge repairs. He said HDR and Kiewit jointly procured the materials and submitted final construction plans and specifications by July 7.

After July 8, the design team began the construction support phase, which included reviewing construction proposals, responding to requests for information, and providing on-site support.

Kiewit project manager James Scheer said workers had to strip the existing paint from the bridge, remove the rivets – which were installed in the 1920s – and gradually install new gussets. Scheer noted that there are limitations to a project like this.

“We have to be very careful about how much equipment we can have at different points on the bridge so that we don’t overload anything,” he said. “We all know that this bridge is not very wide, so if you put a piece of equipment there, you have to be careful not to block the next piece of equipment.”

Scheer said they had to swerve a few times because of emergency vehicles and tribal police, which led to a discussion about lawbreakers driving through the clearly marked fences, putting emergency responders and themselves in danger.

Ryan Klapprich, facilities manager for the Port of Hood River, was concerned because there had been at least 20 attempts to cross the bridge during the closure.

Particularly striking was one case in which the driver fought his way through the barriers and ignored the port staff stationed in front of the toll booths.

“We’re trying to protect our bridge, we’re trying to protect (our personnel). This is totally unacceptable,” Fox said.

Greenwood said police are reluctant to intervene because jurisdiction is unclear, but he added that the port is working on formulating its own rules to address violations.

The bridge is now open all the time to all vehicles under the 64,000 pound weight limit. Semi-trucks are permitted to cross the bridge as long as they are under that weight limit. The port will announce a future bridge closure to continue electrical and mechanical work on the lift bridge.