Motorists who use the Hood Canal Bridge regularly better get used to seeing construction equipment at the bridge site.

In July, the Washington State Department of Transportation and Kiewit-General of Poulsbo signed a $204 million contract to upgrade the 42-year-old bridge’s west half and replace the bridge’s east half. Work began Aug. 18.

The span across Hood Canal is the world’s longest floating bridge over saltwater and the main economic transportation link between the Puget Sound and the Olympic Peninsula. The bridge carries on average more than 18,000 daily trips, even more on weekends.

Although traffic controls are not planned for the initial clearing of the property on both ends of the bridge, the construction equipment and earth-moving work could prove a visual distraction.

For more information on the Hood Canal Bridge project, including the most recent project newsletters, visit www.hoodcanalbridge.com or call Ron Lewis, project manager, at (360) 357-2614.