AASHTO Journal, 20 September 2013
Just months after experiencing a partial collapse, the Washington State Department of Transportation opened to traffic the permanent I-5 Skagit River Bridge. Crews put in place the new bridge last Sunday (Sept. 15), finishing the building and relocation of the bridge more than two weeks ahead of WSDOT’s Oct. 1 deadline.
“I want to acknowledge the tremendous work of the entire team who worked on this bridge,” said Washington State Governor Jay Inslee in a statement. “This is an effort we can all be very proud of. I also want to thank the residents and businesses in the Skagit Valley. I know this caused significant disruptions for many, but people remained patient and optimistic and we pulled through. We now have the permanent bridge in place and Skagit Valley is open for business.”
WSDOT officials say the May 23 partial bridge collapse was due to a semi-truck striking steel supports on the bridge, which carries more than 70,000 vehicles each day and serves as a major commercial route between the state and Canada. After the incident, the National Transportation Safety Board released a report highlighting its findings, namely that another truck had passed the oversize truck, making the driver veer a bit to the right after feeling crowded, striking portions of the bridge. After the collapse, WSDOT put in place a temporary span to restore traffic while working on the permanent bridge (see related AASHTO Journal story here).
WSDOT estimates the permanent bridge cost roughly $15 million.
Additional information on the I-5 Skagit River Bridge project is available here. A time lapse video of the bridge being placed is available here.
