4th Ave. bridge out of service

JOHN GRABER, THE OLYMPIAN

OLYMPIA -- The Fourth Avenue Bridge -- already scheduled for replacement -- was closed indefinitely after Wednesday's earthquake, cutting a major artery between downtown and west Olympia.

Other streets and roads in South Sound were damaged. Some transit service has been rerouted, and Amtrak service was interrupted.

But the Fourth Avenue bridge appears to have received the brunt of the quake damage.

Sidewalks on both sides of the bridge were littered with the crumbled remains of concrete railings, and the roadway dipped visibly in the center of the span.

The dip had been visible before the quake but was more pronounced afterward, said Jay Burney, a project manager for the city of Olympia.

Nobody was injured on the bridge during the quake, Burney said.

Two sets of engineers inspected the span Wednesday.

They will send the information to other engineers in San Francisco for a conference today.

"It's going to take a couple of days to get a complete assessment on that," said Liz Hoenig, a communications manager for the Olympia Public Works department.

Olympia already has funding and plans to build a new Fourth Avenue bridge.

The current schedule calls for construction bids to be sent out at the end of 2002, with construction not likely to begin until mid-2003.

But if the bridge remains unusable, city officials will ask federal and state authorities to expedite the process of granting permits for a new bridge, in the hope that bids and construction can begin sooner, said Olympia Mayor Stan Biles.

"There's significant damage," Biles said, pointing to a sway in the road and chunks missing from columns. "You can see the debris just waiting to fall."

In other transportation developments:

-Martin Way from Mary Elder to Lilly Road was reduced to two lanes of traffic.

The road buckled at both edges. Dirt below an underground gas line in the area also shifted, leaving the line suspended but intact, said Andy Haub, a project coordinator with the Olympia public works department.

Power lines along the northern edge of the road were downed and turned off Wednesday afternoon, Haub said.

-All Intercity Transit routes are running regular schedules with two exceptions.

Routes 42 and 44 are still running but are using Interstate 5 instead of Lakeridge Drive.

Route 42 runs between the Eastside Plaza and the Thurston County Courthouse and route 44 runs between the Olympia transit center and the Capital Mall.

Road closures include:

-Fifth Avenue from Capitol Way to Washington Street.

-Washington Street from Fifth to Legion Way.

-Deschutes Parkway from Lakeridge Drive to Fifth Avenue.

-Northbound lanes of Interstate 5 beginning at milepost 76 in Lewis County. Traffic is being detoured and brought back to the freeway at milepost 78.

-Madrona Beach Road was closed because of a landslide but was passable late Wednesday night.

-Northbound U.S. 101 was closed just north of State Route 8. It was expected to reopen sometime today.

-Amtrak and freight trains have stopped operation for track and safety inspection.

John Graber covers Lacey, Tumwater and military issues for The Olympian. He can be reached at 754-5465.

The Olympian Copyright 2000

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