Thanks for your patience this morning as we had to open the Hood Canal Bridge thus closing it to traffic to protect the bridge from high winds. Overnight and again this morning, sustained wind speeds out of the south and south east direction at the Hood Canal Bridge were over 40 mph, with wind gusts over 50 mph. If we don't open the bridge, the amount of water that flows through the open drawspan would otherwise create tremendous stress on the bridge and could damage the structure. | WSDOT