Some bad news for drivers: the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) says it could take months to repair a bridge on State Route 167.
A commercial truck struck the bridge near Pacific just before noon Tuesday. The accident caused significant damage to the girder, dislodging chunks of concrete and exposing rebar.
“We will not be able to put traffic back on that until we’ve completely replaced that girder,” Brian Nielsen with WSDOT told KIRO 7. “That will take several months. We don’t have a timeline yet, but it’s not measured in weeks, it’s measured in months.”
WSDOT has reduced traffic from three lanes to one– which is causing significant backups during the morning and evening commutes.
“We’re investigating the opportunity to get a second lane open,” Nielsen told KIRO 7. No word on how long that could take.
The incident occurred when the truck, traveling on 3rd Avenue Southwest, hit the bridge with its hoist unit, which was raised too high.
Valley Recycling, the company that owns the truck, declined to comment on the incident.
WSDOT told KIRO 7, “It is WSDOT’s customary practice to pursue third-party damages when our infrastructure is damaged and we will do that in this case.”
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