Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Washington
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 05-23-2013, 09:52 PM
 
5,764 posts, read 11,592,798 times
Reputation: 3864

Advertisements

Has collapsed. Very bad news...

I-5 bridge collapses over Skagit River; vehicles, people in water
Quote:
Interstate 5 over the Skagit River collapsed Thursday, sending vehicles and people into the water below, the Washington State Patrol said....

Both the northbround and southbound lanes of the northern section of the bridge collapsed, said Gina Cole of the Skagit County Herald.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 05-23-2013, 11:09 PM
 
Location: Seattle, WA
297 posts, read 1,032,243 times
Reputation: 264
Does anyone know how long the delays are and where traffic is being routed?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-23-2013, 11:18 PM
 
Location: Pacific NW
9,437 posts, read 7,323,943 times
Reputation: 7979
Some reports are saying they're diverting traffic to Hwy 9, the Riverside Dr bridge was being used for commercial traffic. Expect long delays if you're going through Mt Vernon, probably for the next few months.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-23-2013, 11:47 PM
 
Location: Pacific NW
9,437 posts, read 7,323,943 times
Reputation: 7979
No worries poopskooper. I just heard someone from the DOT say 'weeks' to get the bridge fixed, that's still a long time for the people in the area, but much quicker than I would have thought they would be able to fix it.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-24-2013, 08:27 AM
 
Location: Bellingham, WA
9,726 posts, read 16,670,834 times
Reputation: 14887
So far they believe there were no fatalities, fortunately.

MOUNT VERNON, Wash.: I-5 bridge collapses into Skagit River, injuring 3 | Local News | The Bellingham Herald

If it had happened a few hours earlier I can only imagine how bad it would have been.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-24-2013, 08:48 AM
 
3,695 posts, read 11,335,075 times
Reputation: 2651
It's going to be a lot longer than "weeks" before this is fixed. It's going to take that long for the engineers to look at the structure and come up with a plan on whether they replace the one span or the whole thing. This is a rare opportunity to build a new bridge with wider shoulders and no overhead structure on a major route and I have a feeling that the federal and state governments are going to just replace the whole thing.

Then they'll have to build it, and possibly build new approaches. It's not going to be functional again for a year or two.

If you're planning a trip to Vancouver in the next year or two, start making your Amtrak reservations.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-24-2013, 10:10 AM
 
Location: Massachusetts
9,484 posts, read 16,375,019 times
Reputation: 14482
I would have thought there would be more activity on this subject on the website. Guess not. Thankfully no one was killed, at least that's what the news has reported so far anyway. I have only driven over that bridge twice I think. The one on the other end of I-5 from Washington over to Oregon, I have driven over a number of times. I have always questioned the safety of that one, and the constant bickering over replacing it have been tiresome. I think the USA in general needs to take much better care of its infrastructure, and the American people in general. Something is severely lacking in that dept. We should have learned when the Minnesota bridge, on that interstate collapsed several years ago. We haven't done much about anything. Again I'm thankful there have not been any fatalities so far in Washington.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-24-2013, 11:30 AM
 
4,482 posts, read 9,243,595 times
Reputation: 5769
There are a few ways to get around, but none of them will be convenient or fast. Hopefully people won't make too many unnecessary trips through there.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-24-2013, 12:01 PM
 
Location: Ontario, NY
3,503 posts, read 7,739,466 times
Reputation: 4251
Looking at Google Maps, Going North, your better off getting off at Rt. 536 and take that bridge over the river. Turn on Avon-Allen Rd, and again on Rt. 20 to get back on I-5 and Reverse the oppose direction. While it's a lot longer detour, I think with traffic backups, you be better off time wise.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-24-2013, 12:05 PM
 
1,000 posts, read 1,852,190 times
Reputation: 746
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jimrob1 View Post
I would have thought there would be more activity on this subject on the website. Guess not. Thankfully no one was killed, at least that's what the news has reported so far anyway. I have only driven over that bridge twice I think. The one on the other end of I-5 from Washington over to Oregon, I have driven over a number of times. I have always questioned the safety of that one, and the constant bickering over replacing it have been tiresome. I think the USA in general needs to take much better care of its infrastructure, and the American people in general. Something is severely lacking in that dept. We should have learned when the Minnesota bridge, on that interstate collapsed several years ago. We haven't done much about anything. Again I'm thankful there have not been any fatalities so far in Washington.
I wouldn't say that nothing has been done. In The Twin Cities, anyways, we have had at least 4 bridges replaced since the 35W collapse. One Interstate bridge, two state highway bridges, and one major road bridge. I think there's more, too. I suppose it is because we were the location of the big collapse, so it struck closer to home. The bridge was replaced in a little over a half a year, and a memorial was built pretty quickly also. I'm glad that the emergency response was quick, too, or else some of the 145 injured probably would have joined the 13 dead.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Washington
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top