Westbound I-90 near Cle Elum to close for a week as overpass is rebuilt

Nearly two months after a truck driver with an oversize load severely damaged the Bullfrog Road overpass on Interstate 90 near Cle Elum, Washington, crews will begin to replace the span.

Work starts Monday at 10 p.m. and will close westbound lanes 24 hours a day through Friday at 6 a.m., when girder installation will be done.

Drivers heading west on I-90 near milepost 80 at Cle Elum will be briefly detoured off the highway using on- and offramps at Exit 80. Eastbound lanes won’t be affected.

The dayslong closure is less dire than what was feared when the driver first hit the overpass Oct. 18. Washington State Patrol cited the driver for not having the correct permit.

Within days, however, the overpass was removed and the interstate was moving again. Weeks later, WSDOT bridge designers had finished plans to replace the span, and the state quickly hired Garco Construction to build it. Garco is also the contractor on the multiyear project to replace the Vantage Bridge on Interstate 90 over the Columbia River.

This is the first, and longest, of the interstate shutdowns needed to rebuild the overpass.

The new span will use precast girders – concrete support beams made off-site – to speed construction and limit the time the interstate is closed. Once the girders are set, crews will build the bridge’s concrete walls and the overpass will reopen in January.

Crews will return in the spring, with warmer temperatures, to apply a thin concrete overlay.

The estimated $8 million project is funded under an emergency authorization by Gov. Bob Ferguson.