New Skagit River I-5 bridge reaches major milestone
Aug 13, 2013, 5:48 PM | Updated: Aug 14, 2013, 6:24 pm
It’s a major milestone for the permanent fix for the Skagit River bridge. The first of eight huge concrete girders arrived on the scene Tuesday, where crews are working to build a new span by early September.
The span will replace a bridge section that collapsed in May, after a truck’s overheight load smacked several beams.
“We’re still on schedule to replace the temporary span in early September, shortly after Labor Day weekend,” said Jay Drye, WSDOT assistant regional administrator. “A full closure of I-5 is needed to complete the job, and we’re working closely with the community and the contractor to finalize those details so folks have enough time to plan ahead.”
Once the girders are on site, two cranes—one on the northern dike of the Skagit River, the other on a barge in the river—will work together to lift each girder into place. Each girder is roughly as long as the width of a football field and weighs a little more than a space shuttle when empty (168,000 pounds), WSDOT said in a release.
Traffic is currently moving over a temporary span built earlier this summer, just one month after the collapse.
