ASTORIA, Ore. — For the second time in 24 hours, high winds Monday evening prompted transportation officials to close the Astoria-Megler Bridge near the mouth of the Columbia River.
The winds once again threatened to detach segments of contractor work decks attached to the bridge, Oregon Transportation Department spokesman Rick Little said.
Gusts to 40 mph were reported nearby, the National Weather Service said.
Weather conditions might improve after midnight, but motorists should anticipate that the bridge closure could last into Tuesday morning, Little said.
The bridge links western corners of Washington state and Oregon. Drivers were detoured inland to the Highway 30 bridge between Longview, Wash., and Rainier, Ore.
Workers have been repainting and repairing the bridge.
The span was closed in high winds Sunday night as a safety precaution, but both lanes reopened Monday after engineers inspected the bridge and repairs were started. The bridge itself wasn’t damaged, highway officials said.
The weekend winds were strong but not exceptional by coastal standards — weather service equipment registered a top gust of 41 mph, and volunteer observers reported gusts of 50 mph, said meteorologist Beth Burgess.
“We’re not quite sure why the cable ties broke in the wind,” Little said of the earlier problems.
The cables secured decking at the side of the bridge that gave workers access to repaint and re-rivet the structure. It was built in the 1960s and once called “the most valuable public asset in Clatsop County” by Astoria Mayor Willis Van Dusen.
Work began in July on a five-year, $50 million project to renovate the bridge, which was originally built for $24 million. It was repainted in the 1980s.
The department’s project manager, Steve Templin, said the decking is thin sheet metal, and 500-700 feet of it was hanging by a cable from the side of the bridge Monday morning.
Workers began removing that decking.
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