Skagit River Bridge delay, 520 closure and other weekend traffic
Sep 13, 2013, 9:07 AM | Updated: 2:06 pm
Drivers on I-5 near Mount Vernon and Burlington will have a new bridge over the Skagit River when they wake up Sunday morning, at least that’s the plan.
It weighs 900 tons, but the Washington State Department of Transportation believes the contractor will only need 12 hours to take the temporary bridge out and put the new span in its place.
A detour will be the same one drivers used when the bridge collapsed in May.
“We’ll use some pretty big hydraulic jacks to lift out the temporary span, and then all these bridges will slide in on rails using Teflon pads,” WSDOT spokesman Travis Phelps said. “We’re bringing non-stick to a whole new level here.”
Phelps said the new span will look nothing like the old one. There will be no supports overhead.
Later this month, contractors will start raising the overhead supports on the rest of the bridge to a uniform 18 feet all the way across.
The truck that brought the bridge down hit the right side of the supports, which was only about 14 feet high.
Meanwhile, it’ll be a busy weekend on Seattle area roads as construction crews wrap up summer work. Not to mention, there’s a Seahawks game at 5:30 on Sunday and a boat show on South Lake Union.
The WSDOT said it’ll work around the clock on parts of I-5 and the 520 bridge.
Both directions of SR 520 will be closed between Montlake Boulevard and I-405 from Friday at 11 p.m. to Sunday at 9 a.m. More info.
And on northbound I-5:
9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13, to 4:30 a.m. Monday, Sept. 16 –
Two of four left lanes on northbound I-5 will be closed between Olive Way and Lakeview Boulevard for expansion joint replacement.
11:59 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13, to 4:30 a.m. Saturday –
Three of four lanes on northbound I-5 will be closed between Mercer Street and Lakeview Boulevard while crews place a protective concrete barrier around the work zone.
5:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14, and 5:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 15 –
WSDOT bridge maintenance crews will extend the double-left lane closures on northbound I-5 from Lakeview Boulevard to the north end of the Ship Canal Bridge for bridge deck repair work.
11:59 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 15, to 4:30 a.m. Monday, Sept. 16 –
Three of four lanes on northbound I-5 will be closed between Mercer Street and Lakeview Boulevard to remove barrier and restore all four travel lanes.
