What’s it like to drive through that blue bridge tunnel of tarps? Watch this
Tri-Cities motorists are being treated to a moody experience as tarps shroud sections of the Highway 395 Pioneer Memorial Bridge, better known as the blue bridge.
The tunnel of tarps are in place to contain old paint and the blasting material. Workers are giving the old bridge a thorough cleaning as part of a $33.5 million project to repaint the 1955-built structure.
Southern Road and Construction began the renovation work in early 2024.
The project involves removing old paint, repairing surfaces and painting the structure with five fresh coats of the same shade of blue, “Air Force.” The work will continue into 2025.
The reclaimed material is being recycled and the tarps are a must to keep debris and old paint from falling into the Columbia River below.
The blue bridge is normally the busiest in the Tri-Cities, carrying about 66,000 vehicles a day.
The work is slowing that traffic — both northbound and southbound — depending on the day and time.
The Washington State Patrol is monitoring the corridor and issuing double fines for drivers speeding through the work zone.
At the end of August, construction workers were forced to quickly upwrap the “cocoon” of tarps on the south end of the bridge when there was a high wind advisory.
The contract with the Washington State Department of Transportation requires that precaution.
Alternative routes across the Columbia include the Ed Hendler cable bridge, which carries Highway 397 between Kennewick and Pasco, and the Glenn Lee-Sam Volpentest bridges, which carry Interstate 182 between Richland and Pasco.
The Federal Highway Administration’s National Highway Performance Program is underwriting the blue bridge project cost.
Read more here about the bridge and its history.