Late-night commuters have been getting caught in traffic on the Knight Street Bridge as night-time repavement work is underway – but they might not notice structural work going on below the bridge deck.
The bridge pier on Mitchell Island, holding the almost 50-year-old bridge up, is covered in scaffolding as new bearings are installed and the pier caps are repaired “to ensure the continued structural integrity of the bridge structure,” TransLink explained.
It’s part of the $17.5 million Knight Street Bridge repair project, paid by regional transit authority.
The entire project consists of deck repaving, bearing replacement, concrete repairs, installation of new bicycle and pedestrian railings and new median barriers.
Nightly lane closures have caused traffic delays both north and south bound.
Lane closures take place weekdays from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. and weekends from 9 p.m. to 9 a.m.
There will be intermittent ramp closures as well, and railing replacement work will close sidewalks at some point.
The bridge was originally built in 1974.
