Today marks an historic event in transportation. The Hood Canal Bridge, the lifeline between the North End and the Olympic Peninsula is closed, as crews replace the bridge’s east and west trusses, as well as the rusted east half pontoons.

The bridge will be closed for six weeks while the repair crews work round-the-clock to complete the job.

In the eloquent wording of one Joe Irwin, Washington State Department of Transportation (DOT) spokesman, “The construction workers are going to be like ants on a chocolate bar.”

We’ve been heralding (pardon the pun) the closure for some time, warning folks who use the bridge on a daily basis to come up with a plan to get from point A to point B. The DOT has some suggestions:

• A fare-free, passenger-only water shuttle between Jefferson and Kitsap counties with transit connections and park and rides, including those at Lofall and Port Gamble;

• A nighttime Sunday through Thursday reservation-based car ferry between Port Townsend and Edmonds to assist freight haulers and drivers;

• A fare-free, reservation-based medical bus service that will transport people to and from the Olympic Peninsula, Kitsap County and Seattle;

• Driving around on US 101 and State Route 3; or

• Booking flights or rides on local airlines, buses and boats.

The DOT has placed seven additional traffic cameras along US 101 and SR 3, and has made available a hotline, (877) 595-4222, and a Web site — www.HoodCanalBridge.com — for current information.

And, for those with a sense of adventure, we suggest consulting our arts/entertainment/lifestyle supplement What’s Up, as writer Bill Mickelson is taking the long road, so to speak, traveling Highway 101 in a four-part series.

Above all, be patient. Ants can only work so fast.