An Oak Harbor man who has long been concerned about what would happen to Deception Pass Bridge in the event of an earthquake inadvertently found a seismic study that recommends $3.2 million in retrofitting.

After the recent earthquake shook the island, Robert Sweeton contacted the News-Times in hopes of illuminating the community about the recommendation from seismic engineers.

“It is difficult to reconcile the black hole surrounding the seismic study, given the importance of the bridge to the region and years of unreliable ferry service,” he wrote in an email. “I expect elected officials and the civic professionals and committee members they appoint to advocate for the bridge on behalf of the public. Over the last 15 years, there has been little evidence of this.”

The state Department of Transportation, however, reported that while there are no current plans to do the work because of a lack of funding, residents shouldn’t be worried about driving over the structure.

“Regardless of whether a bridge requires retrofitting, our protocol ensures that engineers take appropriate steps to recommend restrictions or closures if public safety is a concern. If a bridge remains open, it has been deemed safe for travel,” Communications Manager RB McKeon wrote in an email.

McKeon noted that the retrofit scheme is more complex for Deception Pass than other bridges, which is why the costs is so high. The state currently has no plans to do the work but that could change in the future if more money becomes available.

State Sen. Ron Muzzall, a Republican from Oak Harbor, also emphasized that the bridge isn’t in danger of falling down in an earthquake but that the recommendations for seismic work are important. The problem, he said, is that the way the state funds transportation is broken.

“We’ve got to figure out a different funding strategy,” he said, adding that he will continue advocating for ways to get more money into the transportation budget.

Sweeton has been a volunteer on the island after retiring from government service 15 years ago. He currently volunteers at the Navy base in a program that supports high frequency federal auxiliary emergency radio communications.

About nine years ago, Sweeton questioned a state engineer about a seismic study on the bridge planned for 2012. He was told it had been deferred and wasn’t a funding priority for the state.

Sweeton said he continued to scan the WSDOT website for any earthquake-related studies on the bridge but saw nothing. He eventually decided to take “a shot in the dark” and submitted a public records request to the state. To his surprise, he received a study that he hadn’t heard about and that doesn’t appear to be anywhere on the WSDOT website.

“The bridge was built in 1935, according to turn of the century technology, geologic and metallurgy standards, without seismic considerations,” he wrote. “Earthquakes aside, the bridge deck takes a daily pounding from environmental stress and the loads and numbers of vehicles unimagined a century ago. There should be no ambiguity surrounding the bridge.”

The 2019 report, Deception Pass and Canoe Pass Seismic Analysis, was created by bridge engineers who work for the state. The study was conducted in the midst of a major project to paint and repair the two sections of the bridge.

“In general, the analysis revealed that most of the primary load carrying members of both bridges were found to be satisfactory for the current seismic demands,” the executive summary states. “However, deficiencies were found in several secondary members, mainly the bottom lateral members and the bearings of both bridges.”

The recommendations for seismic retrofits are over and above life safety designation, where the bridge would be prevented from collapse but may be unusable after a seismic event. Instead, the study takes into account the desire for the bridge to be usable by emergency vehicles immediately after a large earthquake.

Deception Pass Bridge is about 1,500 feet long and bridges the gap between the northern edge of Whidbey Island and the south end of Fidalgo Island. It is actually two bridges, Deception Pass and Canoe Pass, and offers stunning views from 180 feet above swirling waters.

The study considered how the bridge would fare during a 210- and a 975-year earthquake event. The engineers assessed the truss primary load carrying members, secondary members, connections and bearings of the bridge. The analysis also included determination of the “capacity versus demand ratios for all elements and components within the bridge structure.”

The study recommends retrofits estimated to cost $3.22 million. The recommended work includes adding reinforcements to the approach columns; adding strengthening cover plates to primary truss members; replacing or strengthening laterals on secondary truss members; and encasing truss bearings in concrete.

“To maintain an essentially elastic superstructure the bearings and certain truss elements would need to be retrofitted,” the study concludes. “The bridge was originally designed for wind loading and was not designed for any substantial seismic loading, so it is not unexpected that some secondary truss elements would need retrofit.”