I-5 Skagit River Bridge Temporary Span Opens
The temporary replacement span of the Interstate 5 Skagit River Bridge opened to traffic, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced it is making $15.6 million in federal emergency funds available to help rebuild the permanent crossing, following the $1 million it released immediately following the bridge’s partial collapse on May 23.
“These emergency funds are a major part of our commitment to restore mobility and expedite repairs as quickly as possible,” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood wrote on his blog.
The temporary replacement span has a speed limit of 40 mph, and oversize or overweight trucks must exit and use the current detour route, WSDOT said.
Part of the I-5 bridge over the Skagit River in Mount Vernon, Wash., north of Seattle collapsed after it was hit by a truck carrying oversized equipment.
Before the collapse, the bridge carried more than 70,000 vehicles a day, including about 8,000 commercial trucks, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
“Roughly 99% of the car and truck traffic will be able to cross the I-5 bridge again,” Washington State Secretary Lynn Peterson said in a statement.
“This will dramatically reduce the congestion through Mount Vernon and Burlington, and hopefully bring some much-needed normalcy back to our communities,” Peterson said.
WSDOT said it has awarded the $6.87 million contract to permanently fix the bridge to Max J. Kuney Construction of Spokane, Wash.
The construction company is expected to begin work this week and have the finished section ready for installation between Labor Day and Oct. 1, according to WSDOT.
Installation of the new span could require a full closure of I-5 for up to two weeks.
