Change in plans means almost all Aurora Bridge fence work to be at night

Virtually all work on a $4.6 million project to install a barrier fence along the Aurora Bridge will be done at night, after a late change in the construction method.

During construction, which begins Wednesday evening, two lanes will be closed from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. each Sunday through Thursday, said Greg Phipps, a spokesman for the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT).

Workers from Massana Construction will install an 8-foot, 9-inch-tall fence of vertical steel rods outside the sidewalk on each side of the bridge. Work is expected to be completed near the end of the year, Phipps said.

Until this week, WSDOT officials had said the overnight part of the work, and the lane closures, would be concluded in the first four to six weeks of the project.

But what Phipps described as a "patent issue" led the contractor to drop plans that would have involved the use of a cart assembly moving on rails along the bridge's sidewalk.

Instead, crews installing the fence will work from a platform fixed to a crane or boom extending from a truck on the bridge. One lane will be closed for the truck and a second will be closed as a "safety buffer" while work is in progress, Phipps said.

About 60 people have so far requested free "industrial-strength" earplugs the state is offering area residents. The earplugs are still available by calling 206-267-6019.

Phipps said the loudest work will be drilling of the holes for anchor bolts, scheduled to begin in early May in the northwest end of the bridge.

Since the Aurora Bridge was built in 1932, more than 230 people have jumped to their death from the 167-foot-high span, making it second only to San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge in attracting suicide jumpers.

Jack Broom: 206-464-2222 or jbroom@seattletimes.com