Associated Press

PORT ANGELES — State officials hope to replace, rather than abandon, a 90-year-old bridge considered vital to the Olympic Peninsula.

The Peninsula Daily News reported that the state Department of Transportation received nearly 300 public comments on whether to abandon, retrofit or replace the dilapidated U.S. Highway 101 Elwha River bridge. If abandoned, traffic would be rerouted onto state Highway 112.

In an email to those who provided feedback, agency spokeswoman Claudia Bingham Baker said the overwhelming preference was to build a new bridge. Those who commented mentioned the importance of U.S. 101 in maintaining the region’s economic vitality and the overall quality of life.

Bingham Baker said local elected officials expressed those same sentiments.