Wholesale customers of Kingston-based Propane Northwest Inc. will have a reliable supply during the upcoming six-week closure of the Hood Canal bridge thanks to a temporary storage tank the company is planning west of Port Angeles.

"We've gained a lot of customers over there. It's not that big a deal to go around (Hood Canal) if we had to, but our customers' concerns were 'Will we be able to serve them?'" said Paul Bansen, Propane Northwest president.

The 12,000-gallon storage tank will be at Harbinger Winery, 2358 Highway 101, west of Port Angeles.

The 1.5-mile-long Hood Canal bridge that connects Jefferson and Kitsap counties is scheduled to close at 12:01 a.m. May 1 for up to six weeks.

Incentives to the contractor if the bridge opens early begin June 4 and the two-week extension for weather delays begins June 12.

The finalized schedule for Kitsap County Transit service during the closure should be available by week's end and available on the project's Web site, she said. (Go to www.wsdot.gov/projects and click on "SR 104 Hood Canal Bridge Replacement.")

Two temporary 1,500-vehicle park and ride lots will be operated at the Fred Hill Materials' Shine Pit in Jefferson County and at Port Gamble in Kitsap County.

An express bus will operate between the park-and-ride lot at the Shine Pit and the South Point water shuttle dock, and between the park and ride lot at Port Gamble and the water shuttle dock at Lofall.

Clallam Transit plans to provide daily express transit service from the Port Angeles/Sequim area to the South Point water shuttle dock. Both water shuttle docks will be limited to buses.

The water shuttles will depart the docks in Lofall and South Point every half hour from 4 a.m.-11 p.m. The first boat will depart Lofall at 4 a.m. and the last boat will depart South Point at 10:30 p.m.

The 149-passenger vessels will be able to transport more than 11,000 people daily.

The boats will tie up overnight on the Jefferson County side to be available for medical emergencies.