On Sunday, a day when many people like to actually drive across the Hood Canal Bridge, it was shut down for seven hours after a span was stuck at an uneven angle. Turns out the mistake was due to “human error” not — as the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) initially claimed — a “technical malfunction.”
In other words, WSDOT screwed up — again.
The Seattle Times reported that WSDOT “learned later that one of four hydraulic lift cylinders on the span piece didn’t have enough hydraulic fluid, because a valve ‘was inadvertently left closed’ after preventive maintenance last week, on parts built in 1984.”
A WSDOT official stated that the agency is “so sorry for the inconvenience and travel disruptions this incident caused to mariners and motorists alike … This mistake is a humbling reminder of how important [WSDOT crews’] work is, and how important it is for them to be focused and diligent at all times.”
The latest example of WSDOT’s incompetency comes after the State Auditor’s office released a performance audit that detailed quite a few of the agency’s failures.
Once again, WSDOT proves its utter incompetency and its willingness to mislead the public about its own errors — at the taxpayers’ expense.
