People who've driven on the Aurora Bridge the past two Sundays, and experienced longer weekend commutes than usual due to lane closures, can expect more of the same on Sun., Aug. 29 and Sept. 2. Residents living in Fremont and Queen Anne who've heard the rat-a-tat sound of a rivet buster -- a device that removes the square, metal rivets on the bridge -- can expect to hear more as well.
The lane closures, the rat-a-tat: both are connected to the installation of an 8 ft., 9 in. barrier fence to deter jumpers off the bridge, which is an historic landmark. People in the adjoining neighborhoods have expressed concern about suicide attempts. The Sunday lane closures (Aug. 15, 22, 29 and Sept. 5) are vital to completing the project by the end of the year.
"The rivet and bolt removal will be done over four Sundays and we think this is a better option than six weeks of rivet busting at night," says Greg Phipps of the Washington State Department of Transportation. "WSDOT engineers looked at weekday and weekend traffic volumes and determined that four 16-hour long Sunday closures would allow crews to get the work done." More than 1,000 rivets will be removed.
Lane closures occur from 6 a.m. to midnight, with noisy work occurring between 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. On Aug. 29, lanes closures will affect northbound lanes for half the day; southbound lanes will be impacted for the other half of the day. On Sept. 5, work will lead to northbound lane closures.
WSDOT can provide industrial strength earplugs to area residents. Call the 24-hour noise hotline: (206) 440-4099.