New weight limits imposed on aging Latah Bridge as Spokane seeks funding for rehab

The aging Latah Bridge has new weight restrictions and is barred to some large vehicles, including garbage trucks, aerial fire trucks and other specialized trucks exceeding 22 tons after the most recent inspection found the structure has further deteriorated.

Vehicles can detour along Government Way and Riverside Avenue or over Interstate 90. Law enforcement agencies will enforce weight restrictions and violators could be cited or cause further damage to the bridge, the city of Spokane announced in a news release last week.

Most of the city’s fire vehicles will still be able to use the bridge, as will Spokane Transit Authority and school buses, the city said.

The concrete arched Latah Bridge, also known as Sunset Bridge , was built in 1913 and carries Sunset Boulevard over Latah Valley and connects Spokane’s urban center to the West Plains. It runs parallel to the bridges carrying Interstate 90 and tracks owned by BNSF Railway and is rated in poor condition by the Federal Highway Administration.

Traffic has been restricted over the bridge since 2012, when a study deemed some portions of the bridge’s deck to be unsafe, reducing the lanes of traffic from four to two. The sidewalks were also closed at the time, though pedestrians and bicycle traffic continued on the newly closed vehicle lanes. The study recommended a long-term solution that would widen the deck back to at least four lanes to accommodate growing traffic demands.

Additional weight limits were imposed in 2021, with specialized hauling trucks with more than four axles barred from passing over the bridge.

The Spokane City Council last year included seeking funding to rehabilitate the bridge in its list of legislative priorities and approved a $157,000 contract to inspect the bridge to apply for federal grants. City Council President Betsy Wilkerson recently told The Spokesman-Review that she considers this funding among her top priorities for the year.

The project is estimated to cost $65 million.