Crews working for the Washington State Department of Transportation spent the weekend pouring new concrete bridge supports for the temporary bridge. On Monday, June 10, crews pushed the first of two temporary sections across the gap between the north and south sides of the Skagit River Bridge. They will spend the next several days positioning the span over the new concrete supports.
With the new bridge supports complete, and first span of temporary bridge over the Skagit River, crews now have room to begin work building the second temporary span.
Crews expect to work in around-the-clock shifts as much as possible until the temporary span is complete. WSDOT plans to finish construction on the temporary span and reopen I-5 to traffic sometime next week. A visualization of the temporary replacement bridge and photos are available.
“Getting to this point hasn’t been easy,” said Jay Drye, WSDOT assistant regional administrator. “Each step of removing and replacing the damaged bridge span has to be carefully choreographed to maximize efficiency, speed and safety.”
To move the first temporary span into place, crews first had to carefully and safely remove the fallen span from the fast-flowing Skagit River, create new concrete pedestals to support the temporary bridge and make repairs to the remaining sections of the Skagit River Bridge.
“It’s a lot like building a house,” said Drye. “There is no point having the roofer on your construction site if the foundation hasn’t been poured yet. Now we’ve reached the point where we can really pick up the pace.”
A portion of a bridge on I-5 collapsed into the Skagit River near Mount Vernon Thursday, May 23, after a semi-truck struck critical steel supports. This vital corridor carries 71,000 vehicles each day and is the only north-south interstate in Washington state.