Purdy Bridge Repairs Need Repairing

Frank Slater

Recent repair work on the Purdy Bridge is coming apart.Don Tjossem, KP News

Recent surface repairs to the Purdy Bridge didn’t work.

The Washington State Department of Transportation resurfaced the west approach to the bridge last fall and is uncertain as to why it failed, according to Claudia Bingham-Baker of the WSDOT Olympia Region.

They will try again when it is warmer and drier, she said.

Dennis Engle of the WSDOT planning section said the Legislature authorized about $5 million for the environmental impact study needed to relocate the Purdy Bridge in 2005, but recalled about half of it in 2008 before the work was completed. WSDOT has identified four alternative routes to improve traffic on State Route 302, but is waiting for the Legislature to allocate enough funds to complete the EIS.

For more information, go to http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR302/NewCorridor/FAQ.