Warning: Bridge collapsed Seattle to Vancouver

[Watson's aunt]

Just happened I think the main highway 5 bridge has collapsed. Any one driving from Seattle to Vancouver be warned

 

 

Mary

[colbe]

Just happened I think the main highway 5 bridge has collapsed. Any one driving from Seattle to Vancouver be warned

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thu May 23, 2013 11:26pm EDT

 

(Reuters) - Part of a four-lane freeway bridge over the Skagit River in Washington state collapsed on Thursday, sending vehicles and people into the water below, authorities said.

The collapse on Interstate 5 took out the northbound and southbound sides of the span and occurred at about 7 p.m. local time in Mount Vernon, 55 miles north of Seattle, Washington State Patrol spokesman Trooper Mark Francis said.

"I've got reports of vehicles and people in the water," Francis said. He added that he did not know if anyone was injured.

The cause of the collapse was not immediately known. It was not raining in the area, Francis said.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Lisa Shumaker)

[kjw869]

Just happened I think the main highway 5 bridge has collapsed. Any one driving from Seattle to Vancouver be warned

 

 

Mary

 

My wife and I and about eight other CCers were on this bridge five days ago on a HAL Transfer bus after a cruise on the Zuiderdam. I hope all have survived.

[WarumistdieBananekrumm]

Just happened I think the main highway 5 bridge has collapsed. Any one driving from Seattle to Vancouver be warned

 

 

Mary

 

there are several easy' date=' scenic roads to get around it .......[/center']

[wander]

If anyone was planning to drive Seattle to Vancouver BC in the near future I sugest you consider the train or flying. Flying might be best as the train runs are very limited, although very scenic. I do not know how long the drive is to avoid this stretch of I-5, but I suspect it adds a lot to the trip and will be quite slow and congested.

 

On the local news they are understandably concentrating on what is happening at this time, by tomorrow alternatives may be suggested. Right now the news folks are just trying to find out what has happened to the folks who went in the water in their cars. They now say that they think all the cars have been found and people removed from the water but this is not at all official. Of course, there is also the usual "takling head" wild conjecturing on how/why it happened.

 

Easy driving, yes, scenic yes, quick - no way, especially with all the folks who have to make the drive every day for work purposes. Do you know where the nearest alternative bridge across the river is?

[SpokaneDan]

Thanks for the heads up, I am driving on that Hwy to YVR tomorrow, will look for detour.

[PathfinderEss]

Keeping good thoughts that everyone is ok.

We were on that bridge just 6 days ago, wow scary.:(

[wander]

Actually with a bit more research on Google, there is an alternate route that mileage wise does not look much longer, BUT it has a number of miles of two lane driving, so again traffic could be bad, but doable. Just take a lot more time I would estimate.

 

I too was just on that route 10 days ago. For ourmany trips to Vancouver, BC we usually use I-5, but have taken scenic routes when we wanted to nose around and were in no hurry. Some are very scenic and interesting, but NOT quick.

[wander]

Spokane Dan

 

I just heard them say on the news that the suggested alternate route north bound is to use Hwy 536, exiting I-5 at Exit 226. I think I have the two numbers straight, but at least it gives you something to look into.

[Once Upon A Time]

Looks like there is an alternate route in each direction which is a major roadway. I'm sure there are not as many lanes as I-5 and you may have more traffic, but it is definitely an option. Might take a bit longer, but you can get there by car/bus.

[Once Upon A Time]

Just a quick update.. looks like everyone was rescued, 3 vehicles went into the water. Thankfully this didn't happen this weekend with all the memorial day traffic. Evidently a truck with an oversized load hit a span, and the bridge collapsed just after the truck passed by.

[Cruising-along]

We live about 30 miles south, and have relatives in Mt. Vernon and Bellingham so we travel this route very often. I can only imagine how terrifying this was for all those involved.

 

The alternate routes will be slow-going with all the extra traffic. Allow extra time -- lots of extra time -- if you plan to drive north to Vancouver from WA.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Glad to hear everyone was rescued, and like Ken and Melodie mentioned just last Saturday 10 of us CCers were on a bus crossing that bridge. I am happy to hear there are other routes but I agree that I am sure that those routes will be quite busy for a long time and this weekend being a holiday could be crazy.

[Kman845]

Hi all,

 

My girlfriend and I are on the Zuiderdam this weekend, sailing from Vancouver on Saturday May 25. We purchased our airfare independently and are flying into SEA, landing the morning of the cruise at approx 915am. We did purchase the HAL transfer bus from SEA to the ship, the bus is supposed to leave SEA at 11am.

 

How will this bridge collapse affect things?? If the bus subsequently takes 7 hours to get to Vancouver will HAL hold the Zuiderdam till the bus arrives???

[mowmow]

I would call HAL and see if they are going to change plans.

 

Maybe they will leave earlier from the airport. If they leave at 10, you will still probably make the bus.

 

You might need to take an earlier flight. Begging the airlines if necessary might work, considering the seriousness of the collapse. It will affect a lot of their passengers. o/w that's what insurance is for. You did buy it, right?

[Kman845]

Yes I did buy insurance but don't want to use it. Want to do whatever I need to do to get us on the ship. Would have flown up a day earlier (Friday) but couldnt get the day off of work.

 

K

[Krazy Kruizers]

I just heard about the bridge this morning.

Glad everyone is safe.

[luvteaching]

Good morning,

 

We live in the Skagit Valley and have been glued to the tv in disbelief. At this point all news sources are saying that everyone has been rescued and there were 3 people taken to hospital. It has also been stated that an oversized semi (with pilot car) hit one of the beams and that was the cause. The driver is reportedly from Alberta, Canada, and is fully cooperating. This bridge (from someone who has been over it hundreds of times) is narrow and carries a lot of traffic.

 

This area gets very congested easily but it looks like our State Patrol has been working hard to get a handle on it. Currently they are taking traffic off at College Way, send you two blocks east to Riverside Drive, then north along Riverside, over the Riverside Bridge, to George Hopper and then back to the freeway (1-2 miles). While traffic will be slow (2 lanes in each direction, city streets, etc) hopefully the officers out there will keep traffic moving. The State Patrol is urging patience on the part of drivers and have said there will be a heavy police presence in the area to watch for aggressive drivers.

 

If you are driving there are several alternatives including going up HWY 9 but if you are unfamiliar with the area this could be a very long, but scenic, detour. It could add up to an hour to your drive depending on where you cut back over to I-5. You can also come off the freeway at Kincaid, go over the train tracks, take a right, follow the road and go west over the "west side" bridge and follow Memorial Highway to Highway 20 and then back to I-5. Not quite as long a detour as Hwy 9 and you get to see Mount Vernon!

 

Hope this helps someone!

 

Karen

[WarumistdieBananekrumm]

Traffic is being diverted off southbound I-5 at Exit 230. For an alternate route, take eastbound SR 20, then south on S. Burlington Blvd. and west on E. College Way (SR 538) to southbound I-5.

 

Northbound I-5 traffic must exit at Exit 227. An alternate route is east to E. College Way to northbound Riverside Drive-S. Burlington Boulevard, then west on George Hopper Road to I-5.

 

To use SR 9 as an alternate northbound route, bypassing Mount Vernon, take Exit 221 at SR 534 east to northbound SR 9 to SR 20 westbound to I-5.

 

Southbound I-5 traffic can get off at State Route 20, go over to State Route 536 then get back on I-5.

 

Drivers are being advised to avoid the area.

 

With the Memorial Day weekend starting Friday, residents heading north for the holiday should plan avoiding I-5 together.

 

There are several ways you can keep updated on traffic through the area:

•Download the Seattle Traffic App for your mobile device

•Sign up for KING 5 Traffic Text Alerts

•Visit the KING 5 Traffic page

•Follow KING 5's Tracy Taylor @King5TracyT on Twitter

•Call 511

[iancal]

It could get a lot worse. Officials will now be out in force to complete emergency inspections of other Washington State bridges-on the I5 and on other routes.

 

There are many more of this same approximate vintage and condition (early/mid 50s) out there.

[solocanadian]

Hi all,

 

My girlfriend and I are on the Zuiderdam this weekend, sailing from Vancouver on Saturday May 25. We purchased our airfare independently and are flying into SEA, landing the morning of the cruise at approx 915am. We did purchase the HAL transfer bus from SEA to the ship, the bus is supposed to leave SEA at 11am.

 

How will this bridge collapse affect things?? If the bus subsequently takes 7 hours to get to Vancouver will HAL hold the Zuiderdam till the bus arrives???

 

Don't Worry - be Happy. There is more than one way around this disaster. They may take an extra 1/2 hour. You should arrive in time for the Zuiderdam. Glad you chose the Hal transfer. Enjoy your cruise.

[solocanadian]

Great information. I have friends on the Zuiderdam that will be driving to Seatac this weekend. Am going to phone HAL customer service in Seattle and suggest they print this information and hand it out to those driving to the Seattle airport.:)

[Cruising-along]

It could get a lot worse. Officials will now be out in force to complete emergency inspections of other Washington State bridges-on the I5 and on other routes.

 

There are many more of this same approximate vintage and condition (early/mid 50s) out there.

 

We can only hope. The fact that this bridge was inspected recently and "passed" barely is not reassuring. They need to increase the standards used to judge these bridges. Here is part of a local newslink:

 

"The bridge was not classified as structurally deficient, but a Federal Highway Administration database listed it as being "functionally obsolete" — a category meaning that the design is outdated, such as having narrow shoulders and low clearance underneath.

The bridge, which was inspected last August and November, was built in in 1955 and had a sufficiency rating of 47 out of 100 at its November 2012 inspection, Transportation Department spokesman Noel Brady said Friday. The state average is 80, according to an Associated Press analysis.

Washington state was given a C in the American Society of Civil Engineers' 2013 infrastructure report card and a C- when it came to the state's bridges. The group said more than a quarter of Washington's 7,840 bridges are considered structurally deficient or functionally obsolete."

[Rowsby]

We did purchase the HAL transfer bus from SEA to the ship, the bus is supposed to leave SEA at 11am.

 

The best thing you did was getting a HAL transfer bus....they will want to get the whole bus load thru...!!

Enjoy your trip....!!!

[Rowsby]

I was just looking at the map and isn't there a bridge two blocks east on Riverside Dr to cross the Skagit River....???