By Brian Kelly
Herald Writer
CAMANO ISLAND — The island’s sole link to the mainland will be severed for six hours Sunday, the first of two closures planned for the Gen. Mark Clark Memorial Bridge.
Traffic across the bridge will be halted at 12 a.m. Sunday, and the span will reopen at 6 a.m. The bridge also will be closed during the same time frame on Sunday, Oct. 21.
Gen. Mark Clark was a World War I veteran who gained fame as an Army officer in World War II. He was chief of staff of the Army’s ground forces between 1942 and 1945, was deputy commander in chief of the Allied forces that invaded North Africa and commander of the U.S. Fifth Army during the invasion of Italy. He also served as supreme commander of the United Nations forces in the Korean War in 1952 and 1953.
The Highway 532 bridge to Camano Island was named for Clark when it was learned in 1946 that he and his wife were moving to the island, but their stay proved short.
During the closures, crews will paint the bridge structure and rebuild the bridge bearings. The bearings, often called rocker bearings, allow the bridge to expand and contract.
ANA Coatings Inc. will handle the $320,000 renovation of the steel-reinforced concrete bridge, which first opened in July 1950.
A state Department of Transportation spokeswoman said the closure would affect some island residents, such as those who work late or very early on the weekends, but the department has tried to lessen the impacts.
"We really are trying to do this at a time that will impact the least amount of people. Unfortunately, we need to get this bridge repaired," said Tricia Chieppa, the state department’s inspector on the project.
During the closure, two Washington State Patrol troopers will be posted at each end of the bridge. Emergency workers — police, fire and ambulances — will be able to get on and off Camano Island provided they give the work crew 15 minutes advance notice.
"We don’t view it as a huge hindrance. They’re making accommodations for us," said Craig Helgeland, assistant fire chief of Camano Island Fire and Rescue.
Helgeland said he wasn’t worried about the 15-minute wait because it sometimes takes 30 minutes or so to prepare someone to be transported by an aid unit.
And there will also be someone at the site with a radio who will be able to hear dispatch calls for emergency service at the same time firefighters do, Helgeland said.
Signs went up more than a week ago to alert island residents about the coming closure.
Keith Schoonover, store director at Camano Plaza Market, said the grocery store would not suffer from the closure.
"Fortunately, it shouldn’t affect us at all. We’re closed at 10 o’clock and don’t open till 7 in the morning," Schoonover said.
Some of Sunday’s newspapers may be slightly delayed because of the closure, however. The Herald plans to send subscribers a letter warning them of potential delays, an employee in the newspaper’s circulation department said Thursday.
You can call Herald Writer Brian Kelly at 425-339-3422 or send e-mail to kelly@heraldnet.com.
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