Deteriorating bridges could cause some travel plans to crumble

There are some impending bridge closures that could impact your weekend getaway travel times.

The Canoe Pass and Deception Pass bridges to Whidbey Island are scheduled to close every night between 7:30 p.m. and 5:30 a.m., starting Sunday.

Drivers trying to get to and from the island during the closures will have to catch the ferry. The last ferry in Clinton departs at 12:30 a.m. The last Coupeville ferry leaves at 9:10 p.m.

The nightly closures will last through the morning of July 17.

Tell us about a chokepoint

Tom Pearce with the Washington State Department of Transportation says the bridges are about five years overdue for repaving and repairs.

“The bridge decks are worn out and we need to replace the surface of them,” he said.

Crews will also need to do work on the subsurface to fix some cracks before they become “a big deal.”

Pearce knows this is going to disturb some recreation plans, but there are only so many months a year that this work can get done.

“We need dry conditions, we need warm weather. Unfortunately that coincides with tourist season,” Pearce said.

WSDOT has been warning locals about this week-long closure for months and Pearce is hopeful everyone has their plans in place.

“If we didn’t do the work right now, the bridge would just continue to deteriorate and it could come to a situation where we would have to do an emergency closure,” Pearce said.

So if you’re headed to Whidbey Island next week, be sure you have a plan, even if it’s just a day trip.