Officials with the Dungeness River Audubon Center report that due to vandalism the bridge is closed.

Here is their post from Facebook:

“WE HAVE SAD NEWS… Due to vandalism the bridge is closed again to the public. Last night within 12 hours of reopening the main bridge someone destroyed our new barricade that volunteers spent days working on. It is a shame that a couple of punks can ruin it for everyone in our community!”

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The bridge at Railroad Bridge Park remains closed, but in stable condition nearly three weeks following the damage to the trestle because of old age and flood conditions.

Within the next two weeks officials with Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe hope to have a engineering and construction consultant out to the park to evaluate the damage and produce a cost estimate.

“We’re still exploring a variety of funding sources,” Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe’s Chief Operating Officer Annette Nesse, said. “But until we have a cost estimate it’s hard to know all of our options.”

Once officials have a working cost estimate, the tribe seeks to talk with both state and federal agencies about possible funding, as well as the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

By the end of the week, with the help of Peninsula Trails Coalition members, the bridge portion of the ODT will be open, but no through traffic is allowed, Powell Jones, executive director of the Dungeness River Audubon Center, said.

Since the closure of the bridge, which is an integral part of the Olympic Discovery Trail, the community also has shown a lot of interest in aiding with the repair effort, Nesse said.

Additionally, tribe officials have been in contact with Congressman Derek Kilmer, Sen. Patty Murray and state Rep. Steve Tharinger.

“We’ve been really pleased and grateful with the community response and interest expressed by elected representatives,” Nesse said.

Although the park property and all of structures are privately owned by the tribe, Nesse said, “It’s really thought as a public park,” and thus the tribe is eager to get the bridge open again.

However, until the bridge is reopened, ODT users can take two alternative routes, Jeff Bohman, president of the Peninsula Trails Coalition, said. Hikers and bikers can either use the southern route along U.S. Highway 101 or the northern alternative along Old Olympic Highway.

Both detours via the U.S. Highway 101 and the Old Olympic Highway bridges are open and a map of the routes are posted at www.olympicdiscoverytrail.com/planning_info/trail_status.html.

On the web

See a video of the trestle shot by Jay Cline at www.facebook.com/video.php?v=718181541631342.