Politics & Government

Damaged Anchor Cable Found on 520 Bridge

State transportation officials say that the bridge is safe for travel and traffic will not feel an impact while it is under repair.

This article was written by Venice Buhain.

An anchor cable was discovered to be damaged on the State Route 520 Bridge, but state transportation officials say that the bridge is safe and traffic will not feel an impact while it is under repair.

"The loss of one cable does not put the bridge at risk because of safety redundancy built into the bridge’s cable and anchor system. The operation of the bridge will not be restricted, and repairs can be conducted with no impact to the traveling public," the Washington State Department of Transportation reported in a press release.

Transportation officials told Bellevue Patch in 2012 that the bridge has 58 anchor cables that hold the bridge to the lakebed. Fifteen of the anchor cables were replaced in 2010, including the one that was discovered to be damaged this week. The damaged cable was last inspected a month ago and no issues were discovered at that time, according to the state.

Work to repair the cable could start as soon as Friday or next week, transportation officials said. Construction crews from the new floating bridge, Kiewit/General/Manson (KGM), will conduct the repairs since the group already has crews and necessary construction equipment on Lake Washington next to the damaged cable.

Maintenance crews discovered the damaged cable on the north side of the westernmost pontoon on Tuesday, according state transportation officials. The pontoon itself is not damaged nor is the adjacent cable, according to the state.

The state is replacing the State Route 520 floating bridge, with new construction visible just to the north of the existing span. The target date for opening is late 2014 or the first half of 2015, according to the state.


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