The Devils Punchbowl Bridge on the Spruce Railroad Trail in Olympic National Park that has been closed to pack strings for two years due to cracks in the decking will be closed briefly next month for repairs.
Crews are scheduled to repair the bridge, which is 1.2 miles from the Lyre River Trailhead, December 3-6.
Work to be performed includes replacement of 90 feet of cedar plank decking on the 32-year-old bridge. This project will complete a series of repairs to restore the bridge to its original capacity and reopen it to stock.
The bridge was closed to stock in October 2011, when cracks were discovered in some of the structural members of the bridge trusses. Repairs were made to the trusses in 2011, but the bridge remained closed to stock pending a structural analysis of the bridge and subsequent repairs.
When replacement of the bridge decking is completed next month, the trail will reopen to stock.