PORT TOWNSEND — A portion of the Hood Canal Bridge will be reduced to one-lane traffic today and Thursday.

The closure of one lane is necessary to prepare the bridge’s eastern span for a week-long maintenance operation.

Crews will work to remove a wheel that opens and closes the span’s draw bridge, state Department of Transportation spokesman Lloyd Brown said Tuesday.

A vacuum truck will be parked on the roadway to remove water from the bridge’s ballast tanks, allowing crews to reach a small work space below the bridge’s upper deck, he said.

The work isn’t an emergency operation, but is necessary to keep the bridge in working order, Brown said.

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The rest of the story appears in the Wednesday Peninsula Daily News. Click on SUBSCRIBE to get the PDN delivered to your home or office.