Bridge strikes, project delays mark tough year for Washington transportation

We’ve highlighted some of the good things that happened on our roads already. Now it’s time to look at the bad.

Bridge strikes are at the top of the list.

3 significant bridge strikes in 2025

We had three significant accidents where over-height vehicles hit and damaged bridges in our state. The first came in August when a truck took out the White River Bridge on State Route 410 (SR 410) between Enumclaw and Buckley. It cut off those communities for several months, creating a 21-mile detour to get around it.

The second came in September when a driver forgot to put down his rear lift while driving on 3rd Avenue in Pacific. It took out a girder under northbound State Route 167 (SR 167). Repairs are underway, but lane restrictions remain in place.

And completing the trifecta, a driver failed to check his trip permit and follow his pilot car and took out the Bullfrog overpass on westbound I-90 in Cle Elum. Repairs are underway there.

The rules are simple, according to Washington State Patrol spokesperson Rocky Oliphant.

“The max height on any vehicle driving down the road is 14 feet,” he said. “If you are going to go over 14 feet, you need to get a permit.”

If you are over 14 feet 6 inches, you need a pilot car. It shouldn’t be this difficult to avoid hitting our bridges and overpasses.

On a somewhat related note, we’re beginning to realize there are a lot of drivers out there who should not be behind the wheel of a big rig, but that’s a continuing story for another day.

Another bridge closure

Sticking with our bridges, 2025 saw the closure of the Fairfax Bridge on State Route 165 (SR 165) over the Carbon River. The steel supports have deteriorated so badly that they are not safe to use. This comes after years of neglecting maintenance on the 103-year-old span.

“We don’t have funding to rebuild the bridge, to replace the bridge, to repair the bridge, or even to take it down at this point,” Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) spokesperson Cara Mitchell told me earlier this year.

The state has two options going forward. Tearing the bridge down and calling it a day, or replacing it. That decision hasn’t been made. Losing the bridge would cut off some of the best hiking areas in the state and leave the town of Wilkeson in bad shape.

Delays on I-405 widening project

Rounding out the bad list for 2025 are the massive delays on the I-405 widening project from Bellevue to Renton.

The corridor was supposed to open by the end of this year. That’s not going to happen.

“We’ve been looking at the progress we made over the summer and really looking at the work that’s ahead of us, and at this time we are forecasting that our project will be complete in summer 2027,” project administrator Lisa Hodgson said.

That’s an 18-month delay.

WSDOT puts the blame directly on the contractor. The state is currently suing that contractor for failing to live up to its promises.

Up next. The ugly.

Chris Sullivan is a traffic reporter for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here. Follow KIRO Newsradio traffic on X.

Follow @https://twitter.com/newsguysully