HomeMy WebLinkAboutWSDOT re: Hood Canal Bridge Construction Scheduleo'C co rjss
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May 1, 2023
Board of County Commissioners
1820 Jefferson Street
PO Box 1220
Port Townsend, WA 98368
Kate Dean, District 1 Heidi Eisenhour, District 2 Greg Brotherton, District 3
Secretary Roger Millar
Washington State Department of Transportation
P.O. Box 47300
Olympia, WA 98504-7300
Steve Roark, Olympic Region Administrator
Washington State Department of Transportation
P.O. Box 47440
Tumwater, WA 98504-7440
Secretary Millar and Mr. Roark,
As you know, in Jefferson County and the entire North Olympic Peninsula, we are dependent on the
Hood Canal Bridge (HCB) for the daily flow of commerce and emergency services. We appreciate the
need for the Center Lock Rehabilitation, and the need to do the work in the summer. We also
appreciate the complex nature of this project and appreciate WSDOT's willingness to engage with the
impacted local communities.
We are writing today to express our appreciation for you and your team hearing our concerns
about this project and distributing the impact away from concentrated weekend closures in the
heart of our busy season. The new plan also provides a level of clarity about the project that allows
for our community to plan and prepare.
Due to fluid nature of the construction, we understand the variables that may still impact the 911
medical services within Jefferson County. Our emergency responders are developing contingency
plans for variable planned and unplanned scenarios and are planning to add ambulance personnel
that may be used for these contingencies. Estimates put the projected costs at approximately
$75,000 for the additional personnel and equipment for the scheduled closures. Unplanned or
extended closures would obviously cause that estimate to increase. EJFR appreciates the partnership
with Jefferson County and WSDOT officials.
Finally, Jefferson County would appreciate having a regularly scheduled opportunity for dialogue
with WSDOT regarding the myriad projects you are undertaking on the Olympic Peninsula to create
space for collaborating on solutions to mitigate impacts to our communities. For example, we just
learned about the closure of the Bainbridge Ferry run for vehicle traffic from September 7-13.
(continued)
Phone (360) 385-9100 Fax (360) 385-9382 jeffbocc@co.jefferson.wa.us
(Page 2 of 2 —Jefferson County to WSDOT, May 2023)
This happens to coincide with the weekend of our beloved Wooden Boat Festival which historically
has up to 30,000 attendees. We would have loved the opportunity to coordinate and collaborate on
this timing of this closure and to share ideas for mitigation.
Thank you for updating your plans! We appreciate the attention to the Hood Canal Bridge, and to
our concerns -about impact to the communities of the North Olympic Peninsula.
Brothe
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Kate Dean
cc: Governor Jay Inslee, State of Washington
Senator Kevin Van De Wege, 24th Legislative District
Representative Mike Chapman, 24th Legislative District
Representative Steve Tharinger, 24th Legislative District
Patty Rubstello, Assistant Secretary of Washington State Ferrie
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Heidi Eisenhour
JEFFERSON COUNTY
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
REGULAR AGENDA REQUEST
TO: Board of County Commissioners
Mark McCauley, County Administrator
FROM: Heidi Eisenhour, Commissioner District 2
DATE: May 1, 2023
RE: LETTER of APPRECIATION re: Washington State Department of Transportation
(WSDOT) re: Hood Canal Bridge Construction Schedule
STATEMENT OF ISSUE:
As stated in our letter, Jefferson County and the entire North Olympic Peninsula, are dependent
on the Hood Canal Bridge (HCB) for the daily flow of commerce and emergency services. We
also appreciate the need for the Center Lock Rehabilitation, and the need to do the work in the
summer. We are writing to share our appreciation for WSDOT hearing the concerns of our
community and changing their bridge work schedule. In the letter we are also sharing a couple
of additional issues with service changes and bridges closures this summer.
ANALYSIS:
Along with the City of Port Townsend and other local partners, the Board of Commissioners has
been sharing our concerns about the impact of the proposed HCB closures on our local
economy at the busiest time of the year in our community. We sincerely appreciate WSDOT's
willingness to engage with the impacted local communities and amend their plans but we still
have some concerns about support for our emergency responders to deal with the impacts of
this new closure plan. Finally, just this week we learned about WSDOT's plans to close the
Bainbridge Island Ferry run to vehicular traffic the week of September 7 —13 — which includes
the weekend of the Wooden Boat Festival.
FISCAL IMPACT:
None.
RECOMMENDATION:
That the Board of Commissioners approve and sign the letter of appreciation.
REVIEWED BY:
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Mark McCa I y, County Administrator;- Date