Port Townsend braces for Hood Canal bridge closure

PORT TOWNSEND — A giant clock at the east entrance to the Hood Canal Bridge counts down the hours until the bridge closes Friday for six weeks for repairs. On the Olympic Peninsula, residents are counting the number of miles and hours they'll need for alternate routes and wondering what the closing will mean to already cash-strapped businesses.

In tourist-dependent Port Townsend, merchants are campaigning to get the facts out, not only about the charm of the Victorian seaport town and the concierge hired to meet people coming in on the ferries, but about the actual time it takes to drive there without the bridge.

As many as 20,000 cars cross the bridge each day, and some here say the extra commute time around the bridge during the closure may be as little as 30 minutes, depending on traffic. Convincing the public is another matter.

"I've driven it myself," says Kristen Nelson, president-elect of the Port Townsend Chamber of Commerce, who made the trip from Seattle across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and around the west side of Hood Canal. "I really think that if people have that information, and realize you can avoid sitting in ferry lines for hours, they'll continue to take this route."

Traditionally, May and June in Port Townsend are filled with couples getting married, celebrating Mother's Day, or just spending a weekend in the town that's on the National Historic Register. Whether it's the economy or the prospects of the extra time to get to Port Townsend, the number of planned weddings is down, say those who provide wedding services.

The majority of weddings involve people from out of town who book bed-and-breakfasts, fill restaurants, buy flowers and bring in wedding parties who browse the gift shops, galleries and boutiques.

"We've become a destination spot for weddings," said Denise Blanchard, owner of Petals Flower Shop. Usually, the shop has wedding arrangements to do every weekend in May and June, but so far there are only a couple of bookings, Blanchard said.

The nearby Holly Hill House, a Victorian typically full of bookings for May and June weddings and Mother's Day, also has only a couple of guests registered, said owner Nina Dortch. "We just have to stay optimistic."

"We're just hoping to make it through," said Stephanie Davis, owner of the Public House Grill. But like other merchants, she's offering specials.

Sixteen inns are providing free floatplane flights from Seattle to Port Ludlow or Port Hadlock through Kenmore Air. There is shuttle service costing $5 each way into Port Townsend through Rocket Transportation. And a "twilight ferry" has been added Sunday through Thursday from Edmonds to Port Townsend.

At Port Ludlow Village Store the other day, clerk Lori Farmer and customers were discussing the bridge closure and what it will mean for them. As a community smaller than Port Townsend, business is expected to be brisk. The small general store, where you can buy anything from souvenir sweatshirts to sundries, is convenient to those who live there, but after the closure it will be the only store for many miles, unless shoppers want to drive into Port Townsend, Farmer said.

But getting to work will be difficult. Farmer lives on the other side of the bridge in Kingston and said she hasn't figured out just how long it will take her to use other routes. She said she may have to quit rather than add hours and more expense to her commute.

Customer Lori Hartz, a Silverdale hairstylist who lives in Port Ludlow, plans to find a place to stay near her shop. And Dick Jovag, a Port Ludlow resident for the past 15 years, hasn't figured out how he'll get to his medical appointments in East Bremerton.

Despite a lot of anxiety about the closure, others also recall the 1979 sinking of the Hood Canal Floating Bridge, which left the area isolated for three years before the new bridge opened.

People drove around then and will again, Port Townsend merchants hope.

"The people who are on vacation have a longer time to get there," said Mari Mullen, executive director of the Port Townsend Main Street Program, a group of merchants. "Traveling to a place, driving up 101 is part of the fun."

And once they get to Port Townsend, "We will welcome them with open arms."

Nancy Bartley: 206-464-8522 or nbartley@seattletimes.com