Cracked 520 Bridge Pontoons Will Be Moved Away From Lake for Repairs

This post was originally written by Caitlin Moran.

The Washington State Department of Transportation has announced plans to repair cracks on four pontoons constructed for the new State Route 520 Bridge.

The repair work will include additional post-tensioning at the ends of the pontoons and injecting epoxy to seal cracks. WSDOT says it is still negotiating repair costs and scheduling with its contractor, Kiewit/General/Manson (KGW), but a state construction manager told The Seattle Times the bill is still expected to be "in the tens of millions of dollars."

Officials said earlier this year that the repairs would push the bridge completion to 2015.

In other 520 bridge construction news, a Seattle-based law firm representing People for a Responsible Kenmore and Lake Forest Park Stewardship Foundation announced last week that it intends to sue several federal agencies over an alleged violation of the Endangered Species Act. The groups argue that bridge construction activity in and near the Kenmore canal is threatening Chinook salmon by releasing toxic sediment into the water.

The state issued KGW a warning notice about the problem in January.