Commuters may remember a series of planned bridge closures for live load testing performed on the Hood
River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge last October.

The project followed the Oregon Department of Transportation’s (ODOT) bridge load rating that was put in place on March 3, 2021, based on ODOT formulas. Since several local commercial freight haulers were impacted by the new limitations, the Port worked with its bridge engineer HDR to carry out live load testing in an effort to verify ODOT’s results. HDR contracted with the firm BDI to perform diagnostic tests and determine subsequent field-verified load ratings. Results from the extensive study are still being analyzed and the Commission received the engineer’s report in February.

The bridge’s semi-annual bridge deck maintenance and repair welding project also resulted in intermittent single-lane closures for two weeks in November. The work was completed by Bulldog Welding on the steel grate deck of the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge.
Finally, overhead telecom cable repairs required daytime closures in November to allow helicopter crews to perform the repairs safely.