PORT GAMBLE, Wash. -- The Hood Canal floating bridge closed at midnight Friday for a six-week renovation to replace the older, eastern half of the bridge.

The closure means a new commute for 15,000 people who usually cross the bridge.

The Transportation Department advised people to take ferries and alternate highway routes to and from the north end of the Olympic Peninsula.

KIRO 7 Traffic Anchor Jenni Hogan put together a Hood Canal Survival Guide for alternate routes.

The closure comes on the same day the Washington state ferry system raises fares for the peak summer season.

The $500 million project will secure the crossing between the Kitsap and Olympic peninsulas.

Workers will replace pontoons and make other improvements on the older half of the bridge that opened in 1961. The west side of the bridge was replaced after it sank in a 1979 wind storm. It reopened in 1982.

The Transportation Department said the 8,869-foot long bridge is the longest floating bridge in the world over saltwater.

Get more information at the WSDOT Web site.