Fast-track construction methods will be used for both temporary and permanent fixes to restore Washington state's main north-south connector, from Seattle to Canada, after the May 23 collapse of an Interstate 5 bridge span into the Skagit River.
Washington State Dept. of Transportation officials took less than 72 hours to announce that a temporary structure will be in place by mid-June and a permanent replacement sometime in the fall—likely by the end of September—for a 160-ft-long section of a Warren-type through-truss bridge that took a hit from an oversized-load truck. The section crumpled into the shallow Skagit River, along with two vehicles, in northern Washington state, but no one was killed.