I-5 over the Skagit River between Burlington and Mt. Vernon (Seattle: taxes, pricing)

[Botev1912]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

I'm sure it was over width and over height, and it may have exceeded max height (permitted)

he had a permit and there was no sign for height. It is 100% state's fault. Otherwise, nobody would need any permits and road signs to drive. Also, the inspectors were negligent (and still are) because the bridge had previous damages that they ignored and still ignore.

[Beenhere4ever]

Again I'm wondering. Hasn't the maneuver been done hundreds of times successfully? Isn't it obvious that this trip involved mistakes that were unprofessional? I'm sure NTSB and WDOT are going to say this. If they can't point to even a handful of successful passes over the bridge, they'll say "others did it, this team can't complain about the difficulty". Maybe you can't hand the job to anyone with no past experience, just like you don't get brain surgery by a first-timer.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by Botev1912

he had a permit and there was no sign for height. It is 100% state's fault. ... Also, the inspectors were negligent (and still are) because the bridge had previous damages that they ignored and still ignore.

Actually the legal limit is 13-6 WITHOUT a permit. State is NOT required to post if the minimum clearance at lowest point of legal lane width is over 13-6.

This load was over height (thus the permit.) As a 'site shack' it was over width as well. When traveling interstate highways driver is required to travel in Right lane with pilot car and only during daylight hours..

In this instance the load was hanging over the RIGHT side of right lane, thus the LOWEST portion of overhead span, (which by the pics of rusty crunches you can see the bridge member had been hit before.)
The point struck was EVEN lower than what would have be on signage had there been any (to the right of the lane edge.

The pilot car messed up (by not measuring a warning at lowest point of overhead span.)
The driver messed up (hugging the right shoulder, driving too close to sunset)
The Company messed up by not fully researching the potential risk.
WSDOT messed up by issuing such a vague permit.

Driver is to blame, and will carry it to his grave and into his future career.

The company and the driver were very experienced... this stuff happens. Like loading an excavator with boom facing forward instead of back... I-70; Hays, Kansas; 2006, Whoops...http://www.slideshare.net/lotsofk9sp...70near-hays-ks

But taking down 4 lanes of I-5 is a quadruple quinella. Very BIG deal for claimed losses...and yrs of getting back to 'normal' for commerce and commuters. At least Bill Scott went out BIG time. Too bad, as I'm sure he was a diligent, safe, conscientious driver, and a real asset to Mullen Trucking. Fortunately for most of us, if we make a slight mistake at work it does not put lives / economy at risk, and does not get on the front page.

Again, to think that there were not 20+ cars on or approaching that bridge is next to a miracle.

Lucky day indeed, and appropriate for a WAKE-up call.

[poopskooper]

Originally Posted by Botev1912

he had a permit and there was no sign for height. It is 100% state's fault. Otherwise, nobody would need any permits and road signs to drive. Also, the inspectors were negligent (and still are) because the bridge had previous damages that they ignored and still ignore.

I don't get it. The state was not legally required to post the height on that bridge as it didn't meet the requirements for having to have a sign posted. The permit also has the qualification that the state "Does Not Guarantee Height Clearance." That seems to legally put the responsibility squarely on the shoulders of the trucking company, the driver, and the pilot car company to make certain that they are going to fit before they attempt to cross.

In my opinion, there should have been two escort cars. One, a pilot car in front (carrying the poles, having the correct mapping and bridge clearance conditions along the route, etc.), and a trailing car. However, a trailing car was not required in this case because the load was not sufficiently over-width. But, if they had a trailing car, the correct maneuver in this case would seem to be that before approaching the bridge, the trailing car should have blocked traffic ahead of time so that the truck could split the lanes during the entire length of the bridge so that no traffic would be trying to pass the truck on the bridge itself. This is what would have happened if the truck were over-width and required a trailing car. This way, no vehicle, including that supposed semi that was attempting to pass the truck as they started going over the bridge would have been in the position to force the over-height truck to stay in the right lane thus hitting the bridge structure.

The pilot car company would seem to have much of the liability here. They are a local company who should be knowledgeable about the local structures and their limits. The trucker hires the pilot car before hand and relies on their expertise on the local area and although the trucker has supposedly been on the route numerous times previously, he still can't be the expert on all the intricacies of the local roadway and that's why he hires a local pilot company. To add to the equation is that he's a Canadian and needs to quickly calculate back and forth from the U.S. customary measurement and metric measurement.

I still think the combination of the trucker and the pilot is where the blame lies and not 100% on the state. Yes, I'd like to blame the state too but there has to be some responsibility placed on those professionals who use the interstate transportation system to spend the money to move their goods responsibly.

And did the state inspectors ignore the previous damage? They assessed it, made minor repairs, and concluded it was safe. I believe the bridge had also been routinely inspected twice in the last year and passed. Yes, they do have fault, I suppose, in making the mistake in making the call that it was safe. But trucks are not suppose to hit the structure either. It seems as if the state is admitting that the bridge wasn't suppose to collapse when being hit like that but was it something the engineers and inspectors could have foreseen? I guess you'll say that they should have but who really knows for sure?

[Beenhere4ever]

News says it has had numerous strikes and didn't fall.

[sll3454]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

The driver messed up (hugging the right shoulder, driving too close to sunset)

The rest, maybe, but sunset wasn't for almost two more hours (8:53).

[rantiquity]

Originally Posted by Fairwinds

Here's an example of where WA state priorities lie as regards to state salaries:

OLYMPIA — College coaches are the top-paid state employees in Washington, according to a list of 2012 public salaries released by the state Office of Financial Management.

University of Washington football coach Steve Sarkisian earned $2.7 million last year, followed by Washington State University football coach Mike Leach at $2.3 million.

Third on the list is UW basketball coach Lorenzo Romar at $1.35 million, and fourth is WSU coach Ken Bone at $855,000.

By comparison, former Gov. Chris Gregoire — the state’s chief executive in 2012 — earned $162,000 after forfeiting a portion of her pay when other state workers’ pay was cut.

Most state workers saw a 3 percent reduction in pay since July 2011.

Sports expenditures trump infrastructure every time!

Coaches are not paid using tax money, they are paid using revenue from gate receipts at sporting events. Quit being a tool.

[Beenhere4ever]

I know that's true, but it still shows what happens to money not paid in taxes. People can complain about driving conditions all they want, but when push comes to shove, they'd rather watch losing college teams than see taxes raised to provide safety for commerce and commuters. You want to be rich, you don't go out and pave roads and build bridges. You don't even go to medical school. You try to work your way up in entertainment of all kinds. Those are the people who build ten million dollar mansions.

[CoastieTX]

Can anyone comment on which WSDOT detour is quickest during non-peak hours? What kinds of delays are we talking about? 30 minutes? 3 hours?

WSDOT - I-5 Skagit River Bridge Detour Routes

[sll3454]

Originally Posted by CoastieTX

Can anyone comment on which WSDOT detour is quickest during non-peak hours? What kinds of delays are we talking about? 30 minutes? 3 hours?

WSDOT - I-5 Skagit River Bridge Detour Routes

Non-peak hours, under an hour.

My guess is that the longest delays will be for the shortest detour - the first one on your link. For that route, peak hours may include most of the day, not just morning and afternoon commutes.