Tag: I-5 bridge collapse

Barge moves crane to Skagit River Bridge construction site

A work barge stationed downstream next to the I-5 Skagit River bridge was positioned there Tuesday morning. Work will begin this summer on the permanent replacement span. Scott Terrell / Skagit Valley Herald
A work barge stationed downstream next to the I-5 Skagit River bridge was positioned there Tuesday morning. Work will begin this summer on the permanent replacement span. Scott Terrell / Skagit Valley Herald

Wednesday, July 10, 2013 6:00 am

By Kate Martin @Kate_SVH

Construction equipment and supplies are moving into the area north of the Interstate 5 Skagit River Bridge as the contractor prepares to build a permanent replacement for the span that fell May 23 after a truck with a high load struck several trusses.

Spokane contractor Max J. Kuney Construction has brought in a crane by barge and has stored some equipment in the Dike District 12 lot northeastof the bridge, said Jay Drye, assistant regional administrator for the state Department of Transportation. The company had to widen the levee access road to allow room for another crane on top of the flood-protection structure, Drye said.

The permanent span, which will have the same width as the rest of the bridge, will be built west of the temporary bridge. Kuney will also install pilings upriver of the bridge, Drye said. When the permanent span is completed — sometime after Labor Day but before Oct. 1 — the company will slide the temporary span off of the piers and move the permanent span into place.

For now, construction activity will be “pretty slow for quite some time,” he said. The company continues to create designs for the permanent span.

“We are working on a lot of the details,” Drye said.

Max J. Kuney had the winning bid of $6.9 million last month. Four companies bid on the span’s construction.

For more stories and videos about the bridge collapse, visit http://skagit.ws/bridgecollapse.

– Reporter Kate Martin: 360-416-2145,kmartin@skagitpublishing.com, Twitter: @Kate_SVH,facebook.com/KateReports.

DOT adds webcam for Skagit River bridge construction

WSDOT Skagit River Bridge live webcam
Published: May 30, 2013
The Bellingham Herald   

MOUNT VERNON, Wash. — Washington Department of Transportation officials have installed a webcam at the site of the collapsed Interstate 5 bridge on the Skagit River so residents can monitor the progress on repairing it.

Nearly all the materials for a temporary bridge have arrived at the site and DOT hopes to meet Gov. Jay Inslee’s goal of spanning a collapsed section by mid-June, officials said. The National Transportation Safety Board is still finishing its site investigation, The Skagit Valley Herald reported.

A section of the bridge collapsed May 23 after a girder was struck by an oversize load on a truck. Traffic currently is detoured through Mount Vernon and Burlington

.A temporary bridge will replace the 160-foot section that fell into the water. That will reopen two lanes in each direction. A permanent replacement this fall should restore the bridge.

To get to the DOT webpage that also includes traffic cameras for the George Hopper Road exit and Highway 20, click here. The webcams should automatically reload every 2 minutes, DOT said.