The Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge will be closed on Wednesday morning from 5:30 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. and again on Monday morning from 5:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m.  Port of Hood River facilities crews will perform maintenance lifts of the bridge lift span during those times.  Both lanes of the bridge will be closed to all traffic during those times, and users should plan for delays or seek alternate routes.

The Dalles Public Works will begin a street construction project Thursday at West 6th Street between Hostetler Street and Chenowith Loop Road.  City officials say the eastbound lane of West 6th Street will be closed to all traffic in that area during working hours from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. starting Thursday and continuing until next Thursday (July 25).  Detours for eastbound traffic will be in place, and access to most businesses will be open on Hostetler Street and Chenowith Loop Road.  The street will be reopened each evening.  Crews will be rebuilding the roadway.

The Hood River County Public Works Department Tuesday started chip sealing approximately 20 miles of roads.  Work is starting in the upper valley, will progress to the lower valley by next week, and continue into late August as roads will also need to be swept and re-striped.  Roads being worked on include Fairview Drive and Post Canyon Drive and a complete list of roads being done can be viewed on the Hood River County Public Works website.  Drivers are asked to be extra cautious around work zones and follow all traffic warning signs, and public works officials remind pedestrians and cyclists they are subject to the same laws as vehicles and may be cited for illegally entering a work zone or ignoring traffic signs.

The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce is planning to do three videos to promote tourism in the community.  Chamber CEO Lisa Farquharson says the videos will be on YouTube, the Chamber website, and a Northwest fishing program that airs on Fox television stations in the region.  Farquharson says the YouTube question is whether they are actually advertising with that vehicle or just increasing their presence.  Farquharson says the Chamber is also working on increase web awareness of The Dalles in markets they are not it yet.

Hood River County Commissioners confirmed during a Monday worksession that they had consensus to not take a second run at a tax measure this November, preferring to do more work to make a request in 2020.  Commissioners did indicate a desire to continue to work on keeping their message of a need for new revenue to maintain County services in the forefront.  County Administrator Jeff Hecksel said the budget for public information was reduced for this fiscal year, but there is still money available for that purpose.  Commissioner Rich McBride added he agreed with the need for continued messaging, but also felt the County should do more outreach to some groups.  Fellow Commissioner Bob Benton said he was interested in moving with one of the consultants they have communicated with in recent weeks.

Columbia Gorge Community College has hired a project management firm to oversee the Treaty Oak Regional Skills Center and Student Housing project.  CGCC’s Dan Spatz says PlanB Consultancy of Lake Oswego will act as the College’s representative throughout the development.  Spatz adds the next step is to issue a request for proposals from three selected architectural and engineering firms.  The state of Oregon’s bond sale that will help pay for about half of the project took place in June.  The college has three years from that sale to finish construction of both the skills center and the housing facility by 2022.

Wasco County Commissioners will hold a public meeting late Wednesday afternoon on Second Amendment rights.  County Commissioner Scott Hege says they had received citizen requests to consider a resolution reaffirming support of the right to bear arms, and says it will mainly a listening session for the panel.  There is a draft resolution in the County Commission’s meeting packet posted on the Wasco County website.  Wednesday’s meeting on the topic will begin at 5:30 p.m. in Wasco County Courthouse Courtroom 301.

Work is underway to construct a roundabout on Highway 14 at Wind River Road near Carson.  The Washington State Department of Transportation says there will be intermittent single-lane closures on Highway 14 with flaggers directing traffic, and motorists should expect delays of up to 20 minutes.  A full closure of Wind River Road will begin later in the month and continue for 30 days.  Hot Springs Avenue will be the alternative route between Highway 14 and Carson during the project.  During the Wind River Road closure, crews will also be working to stabilize the hillside adjacent to Highway 14.  The project should be finished this fall.

The long-awaited Catherine Creek Bridge has been installed.   Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area trail crews worked with volunteers from the Washington Trails Association cutting a new mile of trail tread and helping rig, pull, lift, and assemble the fifty-five foot single log stringer bridge.  According to the Scenic Area, the five-ton log was manually winched on log rollers about 300 feet down a rocky slope and perfectly fitted onto the first wooden sill.  It was then pulled across the creek by assembling an incline ramp out of old 2 x 12’s and pouring creek water on them to reduce friction as the log was pulled.  Once across, the log was lifted onto the final sill using a combination of six-ton bottle jacks, rock bars, heavy-duty vehicle ramps, and human muscle power.  Posts, railings, backboards, and steps were then installed.  Work took about a week.

A new law adopted by the Hood River City Council this past November prohibits use or discharge of fireworks from July 15 until November 15.  The ordinance allows the sale of fireworks only between June 23 and July 7 each year, and bans their use from July 15 to November 15 every year.  From November 16 to July 14, use of fireworks are allowed with exceptions during fire emergencies or burn bans declared by the Hood River Fire Chief.