Update:  The Port expects to open the bridge to passenger vehicles by 2 p.m.  Electronic tolling will be implemented, and traffic control personnel will be stationed at both entrances around the clock to ensure compliance.

The Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge should be reopened to passenger vehicle traffic sometime today (June 30), but will remain closed to freight trucks until repairs to damage to six overhead portal braces can take place.  During a meeting of the Port of Hood River Commission this morning, Port Executive Director Kevin Greenwood said the bridge will be reopened to passenger vehicle traffic once they are able to communicate with state transportation departments and get 24/7 monitoring for truck traffic in place, which he expected to be arranged by late this afternoon.  Justin Doornink of engineering firm HDR said the closure to truck traffic is to ensure there isn’t another accidental strike to the overhead braces while they are in a damaged state.  HDR is doing the design for the repair while Kiewit Construction, which is the contractor working on the project to build a new bridge, will do the repairs.  Kiewit’s John Brestin said design work and discussions with suppliers and fabricators is underway, and he expects the repair work to start after the upcoming holiday weekend after July 8 and take about a week.  That will require nighttime closures of the bridge.  The repairs should take about a week to complete once they get underway.  The bridge was damaged and closed on Thursday after a semi-truck with a flatbed trailer carrying a large excavator with a boom on the back sliced through a number of beams for the bridge’s lift span.