The final three of the 33 pontoons built in Aberdeen for the SR 520 floating bridge will leave the factory early Tuesday morning, marking the end of the four-year building cycle.
The site, which was established in the winter of 2011, employed Harborites to help build many of the 77 pontoons that will create a new floating bridge between Seattle and Bellevue along SR 520. The last of the pontoons will leave the facility around 1 or 2 a.m. on Tuesday, said Ian Sterling, a Department of Transportation spokesman.
The remaining 44 pontoons were built at a site in Tacoma.
Tuesday’s roll-out also brings questions about the fate of jobs at the site, though Sterling said that the department has been working with a skeleton crew as work was scaled back toward the end. Sterling said he didn’t know how many local jobs were still filled at the site.
“It was a tough economic time when these things started being built and hopefully we’ve helped Aberdeen get through the toughest of the times,” he said. “Unfortunately, the job is done.”
The department scheduled a press conference on Monday morning to release additional information about the end of the project.
Kyle Mittan, 360-537-3932, kmittan@thedailyworld.com. Twitter: @KyleMittan
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