Community Transportation

Heading to Gig Harbor westbound on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge? Pack a snack

A snack and a potty break might be a good plan for Gig Harbor drivers headed home across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge when state transportation crews begin two weeks of repairs starting Saturday, Oct. 24.

The around-the-clock work is expected to add an hour or more to commutes while the two westbound lanes of the 76-year-old span are closed. Crews will partially replace one of three expansion joints on the septuagenarian bridge. Drivers will be able to use both the carpool lane and the remaining open lane heading westbound.

Regular commuters know the drill. The Washington State Department of Transportation has made emergency repairs to the joints — those metal connectors that make the thunk-thunk noise as cars drive over them — 10 times in recent years.

Repairs to large expansion joints on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in April 2026. Photo by WSDOT

More work next year

And more repairs are to come, according to transportation officials.

“We are replacing three bridge joints in 2027,” said Cara Mitchell, Washington Department of Transportation Olympic Region communications manager.  “A permanent fix is coming in 2027. One of the three joints needs a partial joint replacement now.”

Transportation officials are still designing the scope of the work next year, Mitchell said. Details are not available yet, she said.

Meanwhile, businesses and educators are gearing up for two weeks of delays.

Tacoma Community College Professor Lisa Sandoval excused students who commute from Tacoma to the Gig Harbor campus for evening classes during the construction. She told them to do their schoolwork from home.

Gig Harbor resident Gene Dragovich, owner of Estate Building, works on projects on both sides of the bridge. He said he probably won’t change his daily routine much, but he will be mindful about scheduling employees to work jobs on the side of the bridge where they live.

An infographic created by the Washington Department of Transportation shows the location of expansion joints on the Narrows Bridge.

“I’ll just have to make accommodations for the traffic,” Dragovich said. “I have quite a bit of work on both sides. I’ll have to time my trips and assign workers on both sides of the bridge during the closure.”

The Gig Harbor Downtown Waterfront Alliance recognizes that the two-week two-lane closures may affect businesses, but Executive Director Clare Dunis said it’s just a temporary hurdle.

“We encourage anyone traveling across the bridge over the next couple of weeks to plan a bit of extra time, travel during off-peak hours, or linger a while longer on the harbor for dinner and shopping to let the commute settle,” Dunis  said. “We recognize that this maintenance is critical to keeping our corridor safe and reliable long into the future.”