Tag Archives: Shore Drive

Some remaining Manette Bridge questions

The in basket: Larry Avery, Jeff David and Robert Balcomb have posed the latest questions to the Road Warrior column about the new Manette Bridge in Bremerton.

Larry said on Dec. 29, “(I) was at the Boat Shed this afternoon and it doesn’t seem like anything has happened there in some time.
“Sure, they have been working on the demo of our old bridge, but has the state let the contractor slide on getting the final work done on the new bridge?
“Is this thing on schedule?”
Jeff, a former Bremerton police traffic officer, asks,”When is someone going to admit that they should have had a right turn off the bridge like before to move many vehicles onto Shore Drive and East 11th, rather they enduring two stop signs on Pitt and East 11th.  It’s nice to have a park, but at what expense?”

Robert writes, “There was a plan circulated around town concerned with turning the old Manette Bridge into a People’s Bridge, such as for abandoned traffic and railroad bridges in America and Europe.

“I photographed the bridge from the Boatshed Restaurant, and wife Mary Balcomb painted it to show what could have been a public walkway and gathering place. The picture circulated widely, gathering many signatures in favor.  Also we spoke with several engineers who agreed that the understructures can be up-kept just like has been done for other bridges.”

The out basket: Jeff Cook, the state’s project engineer on the bridge replacement, said on Dec. 30, “The demolition of the old Manette Bridge has been the most noticeable operation over the last six weeks, however a great deal more has been ongoing as well, some which cannot be seen from the south side.

“The overhang brackets that supported the barrier and deck construction of the north side of the bridge are completing the removal process.

“The massive beams which supported the  construction of the first span on west side took several weeks to unfasten and remove.

‘”Grading operations for the east and west banks were completed and the expanded viewscape construction is nearly complete with only planting remaining.

“At any given time there have been three to five separate operations occurring beyond the … demolition.

“So the next question will likely be: What’s left?

– “The contractor will complete the demolition of the two remaining concrete piers; both on the east side in the beach area.  This is tidally dependent, will be at night, and likely complete by the middle of January.

– “The contractor has been awaiting the final shipments of green railing to be installed on the south side of the bridge. A fabrication issue delayed the delivery, but the remaining materials are scheduled to be on site then in place by the end of January. Once installed, the sidewalk will be open to the full 10-foot width.” Gaps in the north side rail also have awaited the overdue pieces, he said.

– “Planting for the viewscape and the center of the roundabout will complete approximately the middle of January.

-“The last work under this contract will be the application of pigmented sealer to the girder faces and end piers. (The public will generally see this as ‘painting’).

“(It) must occur when the temperature is consistently above 50 degrees and not raining.

“What will likely happen is all the work above will complete, the contractor will leave the site, then return in April to complete the pigmented sealing of the bridge. This work will take approximately three weeks and will be conducted from barges.

“So, yes we are on schedule.  The contractor has been working on several operations, both day and night, to complete the work.”

Answers to Jeff David’s and Robert’s questions are found in the “frequently asked questions” segment of the state’s Manette Bridge Web site at www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR303/ManetteBridgeReplacement/FAQ.htm.

A roundabout connection to Shore Drive would have been too steep, so wasn’t built, it says.

Due to the deteriorated condition of the old bridge, it would present a real risk to the new bridge during a major earthquake, if left in place, it also said.

 

The panhandler on the Silverdale median

The in basket: Kathy Stansberry of Bremerton has noticed the growing number of panhandlers who take up positions at the roadside or sidewalk at traffic signals, and asks about one in particular.

He was on the long raised center median on Bucklin Hill Road between Silverdale Way and Shore Drive one day in November, walking up to cars and peering inside. It didn’t seem safe for him and looked like he could cause drivers he distracted to run into one another, she thought.

She wondered if it was legal.

She also said she’s seen a couple of people, probably ready to seek money from drivers stopped at the signal on Kitsap Way at the end of the southbound off-ramp from Highway 3, waiting out of the weather under the overpass while another held his sign seeking donations at the off-ramp. She wondered if they were taking turns.

The out basket: The man on the median was doing something illegal, says Deputy Scott Wilson of Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office. One state law says “No person shall stand in a roadway for the purpose of soliciting employment or business from the occupant of any vehicle,” and another, intended mostly to require pedestrians  to walk against traffic, says, “Where sidewalks are provided, it is unlawful for any pedestrian to walk or otherwise move along and upon an adjacent roadway.”

Either carries a $56 fine, Scott said, though my guess is a deputy or police officer would more likely to just order the person onto the shoulder, where panhandling can legally be done.

“Those wishing to panhandle need to do so from outside of the traveled portion of the roadway, between the fog line and curb or on the shoulder of the roadway outside of the fog line,” Scott said.

“Now whether or not this applies to a large, grassy median that separates lanes of travel, such as is found up on Ridgetop Boulevard., is unclear,” he added. “However, it’s not recommended.”

It wouldn’t surprise me if, when more than one panhandler shows up at the same spot, they take turns. As a young street musician seeking money at a Portland area rest area told me in October, they know that even people willing to contribute to panhandlers don’t like to have to choose between them, so they recognize direct competition is not in their best interests..