I-5 span slated to reopen

MOUNT VERNON, Wash. – State transportation officials say the Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River should reopen sometime next week, after they finish installing a temporary span to replace the bridge that collapsed May 23.

That will be a week too late for thousands of students returning home from Western Washington University in Bellingham this week. Most of the university’s students live south or east of the bridge.

The Washington State Department of Transportation plans to work day and night to meet its goal of getting the temporary span in place by mid-June.

On Monday, 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 it over new concrete supports. Then they have to repeat the process on the other side.

“Getting to this point hasn’t been easy,” said Jay Drye, WSDOT assistant regional administrator, in a statement. “Each step of removing and replacing the damaged bridge span has to be carefully choreographed to maximize efficiency, speed and safety.”

The temporary bridge is actually two connected 24-foot-wide spans being erected by contractor Acrow Bridges. The structure will be a total of 240 feet long for overlapping support and will restore two highway lanes in each direction.

Drye compared the experience to building a house because of all the elements that go into replacing the bridge.

“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,” he said.