I-82 bridge at Umatilla reopens Wednesday after $11 million renovation

The Oregon-bound Interstate 82 bridge reopens Wednesday after a two-year project to replace the aging deck of the Columbia River span.

The Washington Department of Transportation said Oregon-bound traffic will be diverted back onto the rebuilt bridge sometime Wednesday afternoon.

The eastbound lanes were detoured to the Washington-bound bridge while the older span was repaired and received a new deck. It had been classified as structurally deficient.

The bridge was supposed to reopen last fall. On Tuesday, the Department of Transportation said additional steel repair work forced a delay because crews weren’t able to pour new concrete on the bridge deck until spring.

Drivers should expect delays as crews complete minor repairs and remove the median barriers from the westbound bridge.

Both bridges should be fully open by the Fourth of July.