I-5 Skagit River Bridge Opens in Washington
The Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River in Washington state opened Sept. 15 with a permanent span to replace the section that collapsed in May, the Washington State Department of Transportation said.
Crews used a system that included jacks and steel rails to slide out a temporary span opened in June and slide in the permanent, concrete section that had been built next to the bridge, WSDOT said. The process took about 19 hours, and the bridge opened to traffic at about 2 p.m.
“I want to acknowledge the tremendous work of the entire team who worked on this bridge,” Gov. Jay Inslee (D) said in a statement. “This is an effort we can all be very proud of.”
A section of the bridge collapsed May 23 after a truck’s oversize load hit the truss structure. The National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating the incident.
The state will soon start a project to increase clearances on the 58-year-old bridge and reinforce the truss structure, WSDOT said.
