Uniform Clearances Planned For New Skagit River Bridge
The new permanent below-deck girder bridge span to replace the 160-ft-long section that toppled into the Skagit River in May won’t have any vertical height clearance concerns. And soon the remainder of the 1,112-ft new Skagit River Bridge will have a more worry-free uniform vertical clearance to help reduce potential collisions.
Washington State Dept. of Transportation officials announced this week a plan to eliminate the curves in the bridge’s current support structure that offers 18 ft of vertical clearance at the center of the bridge, but only 15 ft 6 in. of clearance as the supports curve downward at the fog line, making the bridge the state’s lowest steel structure over Interstate 5.