I-82 bridge to Oregon won’t be done this year after all

Reconstruction of the twin spans of the Interstate 82/Highway 395 Umatilla Bridge won’t wrap up until next year.

That means drivers will continue to be routed to detours until the work is finished, said the Washington Department of Transportation.

Details on the reasons for the delay weren’t immediately available.

The $10 million project to rebuild the older of the two bridges that link Washington and Oregon at Umatilla began in mid-2017.

Washington is the lead agency on the work, which included replacing the deck.

The span in question opened in 1955, and replaced a ferry that carried traffic across the Columbia River. The second span opened in 1988.

For the reconstruction, the newer 1988 span has carried traffic in both directions, leading to backups during peak travel times such as the Eclipse and more recently, Thanksgiving.