Welcome to Skagit County

June 2nd, 2004

WSDOT AWARDS SECOND STREET BRIDGE REPLACEMENT PROJECT

BURLINGTON – The Washington State Department of Transportation awarded the Second Street Bridge removal project yesterday to Mowat Construction Company for their $9.36 million bid. Mowat will remove the existing Second Street Bridge over Interstate 5 in Mount Vernon and replace it with a new wider, taller and safer bridge.

Construction will start July 2004. Crews will demolish the existing Second Street Bridge, and then spend the next year and a half building the new bridge. The new bridge will have three 12-foot wide vehicle lanes (two northbound and one southbound), bicycle lanes, sidewalks, and a height clearance of 18 feet 7 inches.

The existing bridge has the lowest clearance of any bridge over Interstate 5 between Canada and Mexico. The low clearance forces taller trucks to detour off I-5, thus slowing freight mobility and congesting city streets in Mount Vernon. Removing the low clearance bridge will increase safety and reduce congestion.

WSDOT will help maintain access to down town Mount Vernon with clearly marked detour routes while the Second Street Bridge is closed.

The Washington State Legislature approved $12 million in funding from the 2003 Transportation Funding Package to build the new Second Street Bridge. For more detailed information about the project, please visit www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/i5_2ndst_bridgerepl/.

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For updated information on the above and other Department of Transportation traffic revisions in the Puget Sound area, call the Commuter Information Line at DOT-HIWY (206-368-4499). The Commuter Information Line may also be reached toll free in Washington at 1-800-695-ROAD (7623). TTY users can call 1-800-833-6388 and ask for (206) 515-3683.