Road Warrior

The in basket: Willadean Howell has a couple of suggestions for making Washington Avenue in Bremerton more driver friendly.

She finds the left turn for those coming off the new Manette Bridge to be uncomfortably tight due to the center barrier that divides the two directions of travel on Washington. If the end of the barrier at the bridge access were cut back a short distance, the turn would a lot easier, she said.

She also echoed a suggestion I got year or so ago about making the southbound outside lane of Washington at Sixth Street a right-turn-only lane. Most drivers make that turn and the inside lane is sufficient to handle those wanting to go straight ahead, she argued. As it is now, drivers who otherwise could make a right on red and be on their way are trapped behind any driver who wants to go straight and must wait for a green light.

When another reader made the same  right-turn-only suggestion, city engineers of the time said they wouldn’t what to make such a change piece-meal but would consider it as part of a larger review of downtown traffic flows.

The out basket: Gunnar Fridriksson, the city street engineer who answers my questions these days, says he agrees with his predecessors about the right turn.

“(There are a) couple of issues here,” he said, “one of which

would be reconfiguring the existing signal and its cabinet – and the costs associated therewith.”

“Further, extending Washington’s widened sidewalk, currently south of Fifth Street, up

to Sixth Street may be affected by such a change and must be considered.”

“I do believe this is an excellent issue to be addressed with a downtown circulation study,” Gunnar added. “I will put a note into the file with your e-mail for when we do pick that back up.”

As for the barrier intruding on left turns, there are no plans to chop it back, he said. The state tested the turn with a Kitsap Transit bus and a tractor-trailer and “were able to have both of them make the movement,” he said.

Of course, state officials said they used a bus in designing the new east-end Manette roundabout and they wound up enlarging it after buses actually started using it.

The in basket: Ralph Gribbin and Gary Blankenship are hoping the new traffic pattern in Manette with the opening of its new bridge will be smoothed with some changes on the short block of Pitt Avenue between Harkins and East 11th Street.

“What are the city’s plans for the streets leading to the bridge?” Gary asked. ”At the very least, shouldn’t parking along (that part of Pitt) be stopped? Better, shouldn’t it be widened?”

Ralph would go further. “Ever since the old bridge was closed, Manette traffic has had to go straight through on Harkins to Pitt, stop, turn right on Pitt for one short block and stop at 11th Street before turning left onto it,” he wrote.

“Leaving those two stop signs where they are stops the smooth flow of traffic from the bridge to 11th and up to Perry and Trenton avenues.

“Removing those two stop signs, placing a Yield sign on westbound 11th just before Pitt, and a stop sign on eastbound 11th just before Pitt  would make this the thoroughfare that should exist in that area.

“The same basic layout has existed at Trenton Avenue and 11th for years without any problem,” he said.

The out basket: I drove around there and it does have all the earmarks of a bottleneck, with little room for anything very large to make the turn if there is oncoming traffic.

The city of Bremerton is taking a wait-and-see approach to this, says Gunnar Fridriksson of the city engineers office, to see what drivers do naturally.

“The city had numerous conversations with (the state) about the after-configuration of the streets in Manette,” he said. ”… What was decided was to wait a bit after the new bridge was open to see how traffic reacted with the new configuration. Often it just takes a couple of weeks for issues to iron themselves out and drivers to adjust to the new situation, and we did not want to spend unnecessary effort for signage and the like.”

There will be some changes made in that area, probably next year, but they’re not intended to help the flow to and from the bridge.

“The project is a Low Impact Development street project,” Gunnar said, “similar to what occurred on Pacific Avenue with pervious paving, rain gardens, etc…

“We will be going from the west end of (East) 11th Street, east as far as the money will allow us. We originally were trying to make it to Perry Avenue, but with the funding received, are trying to at least make it to Scott, but it may just be to Pitt.

“It should be a good complement to the redone Whitey Domstad viewscape,” he said.

The in basket: I heard second hand at the dentist’s office Thursday that one of Kitsap Transit’s worker/driver buses had had a hard time getting around the new roundabout being opened at the end of the Manette Bridge in Bremerton. The driver had to back up to maneuver his way around it, the report said.

It might have resulted from the driver’s unfamiliarity with the just-opened roundabout, I remarked.

It reminded me that Gary Reed had e-mailed on Oct. 6 to ask, “Is the roundabout on the Manette-side sized to allow buses, semi trucks, and fire trucks to safely negotiate it, or will there be a vehicle length restriction?

“It looks pretty small,” he said.

The out basket: Jeff Cook, project engineer for the bridge project said at the time, “There are no length restrictions being imposed on the bridge.  The design vehicle for this particular roundabout was the longest bus in the Kitsap Transit fleet.

“Keep in mind there are two components of a roundabout when it comes to traversable areas.  The first is the asphalt itself.  The second is the truck apron.  The truck apron is the concrete circle between the asphalt and the roundabout stubwall.  By definition it is “a raised section…around the central island that acts as an extra lane for large vehicles.

“The back wheels of the oversize vehicle can ride up on the truck apron so the truck can easily complete the turn, while the raised portion of concrete discourages use by smaller vehicles.”

John Clauson of Kitsap Transit confirmed that a worker-driver bus had run into trouble getting around the circle. State officials called them Thursday,” John said,  ”asking us to bring out a bus so they could see just where the problem was. Our experience during that exercise was the same as the Worker/Driver.” I’m not sure where this will lead.

The in basket: As I crossed the Warren Avenue Bridge in Bremerton one recent day and looked over at the old Manette Bridge, fated for demolition this fall and winter, my thoughts flashed to the fact that most of the fallen portions of Galloping Gertie, the original, short-lived Tacoma Narrows Bridge, are said to remain where they fell, at the bottom of the narrows.

I wondered if any part of the Manette Bridge would wind up on the bottom of its narrows.

The out basket: It was a timely curiosity, as state engineers were grappling at that very moment with ways to make sure the answer is no, the old Manette Bridge will be removed in its entirety.

They turned out a news release soon afterward, detailing how the underwater portions of the old bridge will be removed under a separate contract. Their original plans for the removal were judged too likely to make the crumbled concrete unretrievable. There was a story about it in the Sept. 17 Sun.

Project Engineer Jeff Cook has provided me with further details.

The majority of the removal will be done under the construction contract with Manson-Mowat.

The road surface already has been removed.  This fall, the steel parts of the bridge will be lifted in chunks of up to 250 tons, put on a barge and cut up for transport off-site. The steel center truss, the visual identity of the old bridge, will be the last steel part removed.

Then crews will use what’s called a hoe ram, described as a huge jackhammer, to “rubblize” the above-water parts of the concrete uprights that support the bridge.

The chunks will fall onto a platform of planks laid between two barges to be positioned on each side of the pier being destroyed, Jeff said. The barges and planks will be covered in sand to keep the falling detritus from bouncing into the water.

When the platforms hold as much as they can, the barges will be moved to Tacoma to be unloaded, Jeff said. It may take more than one trip.

“Nothing is allowed to drop into the water,” he said. “The contractor will be required to fully contain all pieces that are picked and removed during demolition.”

The below-water parts of the bridge will fall to the bottom, but will be contained within steel coffer cells that will limit the area from which the rubble must be removed, Jeff said.

No one will ever accuse me of being an environmentalist, so I’m anxious to hear from those who consider themselves to be whether this doesn’t all seem a bit much. Particularly, the importance of keeping out of the water crumbled parts of concrete structures that have sat intact in that same water for 80-some years seems like costly overkill.

The in basket: Gary Reed writes, “The people building the Manette Bridge have been leaving their large sign and traffic cones on Washington Avenue, long after the work is done for the day. This blocks the outside lane that is used to turn onto the bridge all the way to the bridge entrance, forcing everyone to wait for a green light for the inside lane to continue straight or turn right onto the bridge.

“Is it just too inconvenient for them to place and remove the sign each day?  It is pretty inconvenient to the motorists when traffic backs up for blocks,” Gary said.

The out basket: Project Engineer Jeff Cook says it comes down to weighing cost savings versus traffic disruption.

“Starting last week, and for the next few months,” he said, “the bridge work is occurring under both daytime and nighttime operations.  Both day and night work require the closure of the turn lane.

“There is a small window of a few hours between the two shifts when the arrow board, signs, and channelization devices have been left in place,” he said. “As there is a cost associated with each set up and take down, we have been monitoring the extent of traffic backups in an effort to balance convenience of travel with cost to the project.

“Since it takes approximately 30 minutes to fully remove the setup and take it to a staging yard, then another 30 minutes to re-establish the setup, it is something we are continually assessing.

“This week we will be pulling off the closure at the end of day shift and setting it back up for the night work and monitoring the difference,”  Jeff said.

The in basket: Gary Reed says he’s curious about the decking material that is planned for the new Manette Bridge.

“Will it be the same material as was used on the Warren Avenue Bridge that is already deteriorating, or yet another new miracle material?

“I also noticed there are traffic counters installed on the existing Manette Bridge,” Gary said. “Is someone changing their mind about the replacement? Seems a little late to determine traffic flow, and maybe not too accurate with the bridge being shut down at least one day a week.”

The out basket: Jeff Cook, project engineer for the bridge job, says the riding surface for the new bridge will be an 8-inch thick, reinforced concrete deck construction….  This is the standard concrete for bridge decks used throughout the state highway and interstate system (so no “new miracle” material).”

Warren Avenue Bridge has a 3/4-inch polyester concrete overlay atop light weight concrete.

“As to changing minds about the replacement of the existing structure, the answer is no,” Jeff said. “The continued construction of the new bridge is evidence of that.  And just to be clear; the new bridge is going up; existing bridge is coming down.

“The counters are placed throughout the area at this time … to get a baseline reading and account for variations in daily travel patterns,” he said.

“We use the information collected for a variety of reasons.  Specific to Manette Bridge, we continue to monitor traffic counts and peak hourly volumes to work on possible solutions to minimize impact to traffic and commuter vehicles while maintaining an efficient construction operation.”

The in basket:  Alison Loris asked what I expected to be a simple question. Will the new Manette Bridge have bike lanes? Her husband commutes by bicycle, she said.

The out basket: I started to steer her to the state Web site on the project (www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR303/ManetteBridgeReplacement/) but checked first and found no mention of bike lanes.

That’s because there won’t be any specifically designated bike lanes, says Project Engineer Jeff Cook. But there will be five-foot-wide shoulders on each side, which will provide bicyclists with a place to ride separated from vehicle traffic.

There also will be a 12-foot-wide sidewalk on the same side as the sidewalk of the existing bridge, but it’s uncertain whether bicycles will be allowed there. The state defers to the city for that decision. City street engineering says there doesn’t appear to be any prohibition of bicycles using the sidewalk, but the city attorney has been asked for an opinion.

The vehicle lanes will be 11 feet wide, a foot narrower than those on the existing bridge.

The in basket: Debby Briody asks, “What are the rules for the transit buses on Manette Bridge? What must a car driver do as regards the flashing lights on the buses?” She said her boyfriend meets a bus on the bridge every day.

The out basket: John Clauson of Kitsap Transit and Doug Wagner, transportation director for Bremerton schools, whose drivers also sometimes turn on their flashers when approaching the bridge’s narrow center span, say it’s just a cautionary step to alert other drivers that the bus may have to stop.

That can happen when they meet another large vehicle coming the other way. John says they have lost side view mirrors in close passages by buses and trucks, and the drivers may stop to allow a large oncoming vehicle to clear the center span before the bus enters it.

It’ll all be academic when the state has replaced the old bridge, expected by 2012, and large vehicles can pass one another comfortably.

The in basket: Michael Drouin asks the status of two bridge projects in Kitsap County, replacement of the washed-out bridge over Chico Creek on Chico Way and the Manette Bridge.

I also got the Chico Way question from a couple people at a  Winter Club dance at Kitsap Golf and Country Club on Feb. 7. Club members and patrons coming from the south have had to go north on Highway 3 or one of a couple county roads and then double back since the bridge washed out. Their return trips home require the same kind of detour.

And Michael Schuyler wonders if the Manette job will adversely affect the Boat Shed Restaurant, just to the south of the bridge.

The out basket: Information on both projects is available on the respective Web sites of Kitsap County, which has the Chico Way project, and the state, owner of the Manette Bridge. The Web sites are www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR303/ManetteBridgeReplacement/ and www.kitsapgov.com/pw/roadwork.htm.

The county’s site says about the Chico Way work, “The collapsed bridge has been removed, all permits have been obtained, and the design is complete.  Bids were opened for construction of the replacement bridge on Feb. 17.  A recommendation to award a contract to Quigg Bros., Inc., from Aberdeen, will be before the county commissioners on March 23. Construction is anticipated to commence the week of March 30 and be complete in early September of this year.”

Probably as a measure of the current economic climate, there were 13 bids on the job and all but one was under the county’s estimate of $1.12 million. Quigg Brothers’ bid is $717,239.   

There is a May 5 open house set for the Norm Dicks Government Center in Bremerton to discuss the Manette Bridge job, set to begin construction next year. “Project staff will be on hand to explain all aspects of the bridge replacement project,” the state’s site says. “Public input will be sought on opportunities for architectural embellishments on the new bridge.“

The state’s Web site includes a drawing showing the difference between the aging 29-foot-wide span and its 44-foot-wide replacement, the $83 million price tag on the replacement and a wealth of other information. 

It doesn’t say that the new bridge is expected to be ready for traffic by December 2012, and the old bridge will be torn down in the first half of 2013, information I got from project engineer Bill Elliott.

And even though the new bridge will be built on the Boat Shed’s side of the old one, with just three feet separating the spans while the old one remains standing, the restaurant shouldn’t be affected – not negatively, anyway. 

“While close,” Bill said, “the new bridge can be built without impacting the Boat Shed restaurant. They’ll certainly have a front row seat for watching the construction.”