Skagit River bridge collapse cuts major travel artery

MOUNT VERNON, Wash., May 24 (UPI) —

The loss of the bridge over the Skagit River, which collapsed Thursday near Mount Vernon, Wash., will be a long-term issue, a government official said.

The bridge fell after a truck carrying an oversize load struck one of its beams, authorities said. The incident Thursday evening caused two vehicles to fall into the river’s icy water. Three people were pulled from the water and treated for minor injuries, The Seattle Times reported Friday.

Authorities said the bridge, near the Canadian border, wobbled and fell moments after the truck traversed it from south to north.

Officials said the highway, part of Interstate 5 and a crucial link in truck and tourism traffic to and from the United States and Canada, could not be repaired for weeks.

"This is going to be a long-term traffic issue, because we need to rebuild this section of the I-5. It could be weeks," said Travis Phelps, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation, adding the department will examine its options in the next few days.

It carries an average of 70,000 vehicles per day, 12 percent of which are trucks, the newspaper said.

The bridge, now lying in the river, was built in 1955. It was inspected twice last year and appropriate repairs were made, state Transportation Secretary Lynn Peterson said.

It is classified as a "fracture critical" bridge in the National Bridge inventory, which indicates the failure of a singular structural part could wreck the entire bridge.