For three weeks this May, Washington’s Hood Canal Bridge will go completely dark every night — no cars, no trucks, no emergency vehicles — for seven hours at a stretch.
The floating span on SR 104 sits in one of the saltiest, most corrosive marine environments on the West Coast, demanding near-constant upkeep just to stay operational. Starting May 11, contractor crews working for WSDOT will use those overnight windows to replace a component most drivers never think about: the shock absorbers that hold both halves of the bridge together.
What’s Closing and When: The Full Overnight Schedule
The closures run 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., Monday through Thursday nights, across three consecutive weeks. Week one covers May 11–14. Week two runs May 18–21. Week three is shortened — closures run Tuesday, May 26, through Thursday, May 28, skipping Memorial Day on Monday, May 25.
Each night of work is weather-dependent, and WSDOT may reschedule if conditions aren’t right. Travelers should check the WSDOT Hood Canal Bridge web page or the mobile app before heading out, since conditions around the bridge can shift with little warning.
One detail worth emphasizing: during each closure, the bridge won’t open for any traffic whatsoever — emergency response vehicles included. For seven hours each night, the crossing is simply unavailable.
Why Shock Absorbers Matter on a Floating Bridge
Most drivers cross the Hood Canal Bridge without giving much thought to what holds it together. The answer, in part, is shock absorbers — components connecting the two halves of the floating span that absorb the continuous motion generated by tides, currents, and wind.
Replacing them isn’t a simple swap. The work requires a full traffic shutdown for each session, because crews can’t safely perform the replacement with vehicles moving across the deck. That’s why WSDOT secured seven-hour overnight windows rather than attempting shorter, partial closures.
Salt water accelerates corrosion on metal components at a rate far beyond what inland bridges experience. What might last decades on a conventional overpass wears out much faster on a floating structure sitting in tidal water — and that reality shapes the urgency of this work.
Ongoing Preservation of a Unique Structure
The Hood Canal Bridge is one of the longest floating bridges in the world. Rather than resting on piers driven into bedrock, it rides on pontoons, making it inherently more responsive to environmental forces and more dependent on regular maintenance.
WSDOT describes the bridge’s upkeep as a continual process, not a one-time fix. The current shock absorber replacement targets critical elements at the center of the bridge as part of a broader refurbishment effort. The goal is to keep the structure operational for both vehicle traffic on SR 104 and marine vessels passing through the canal below — a dual-use role that adds real complexity to how and when major work gets scheduled.
How Travelers Can Plan Ahead
With no detour available during full closures, advance planning isn’t optional. Drivers who regularly use SR 104 to cross between the Kitsap and Olympic peninsulas will need to adjust departure times or find alternative routes well before the 10 p.m. cutoff.
WSDOT offers several tools. The Hood Canal Bridge web page provides current status and schedule updates, while the mobile app gives travelers on-the-go access to the same information. There’s also a Hood Canal Bridge email alert subscription — a practical option for commuters and anyone who needs reliable advance warning when schedules change. Emergency planners and healthcare providers in the region should factor the closures into their protocols as well, since emergency vehicles face the same restrictions as all other traffic during those seven-hour windows.
The key facts: overnight closures run 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. during the weeks of May 11–14, May 18–21, and May 26–28, skipping May 25. All traffic is prohibited during each window. The work — replacing shock absorbers that connect the two halves of the bridge — is necessary to keep one of the world’s longest floating bridges operational in a demanding marine environment. Travelers should monitor the WSDOT Hood Canal Bridge page and app, and consider signing up for email alerts before the first closure begins.