Welcome to Skagit County

August 8th, 2004

SECOND STREET BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION BEGINS MONDAY, FOUR DAYS AFTER BRIDGE'S LATEST HIT

BURLINGTON – Crews begin construction next week on Mount Vernon city streets in preparation for closing, removing and replacing the Second Street Bridge. The work couldn’t come soon enough. Just yesterday (Thursday, August 5) an oversized truck hit the bridge, damaging the bridge’s protective metal plate. This is the third time it’s been hit this year.

The Washington State Department of Transportation will replace the old, low clearance Second Street Bridge over Interstate 5 with a new wider and taller bridge that will increase clearance for trucks, improve safety and reduce congestion on Mount Vernon streets.

On Monday, Aug. 9, WSDOT will install construction signs, close parking lots, and begin converting Washington Street from a one-way street to a two-way street between First Street and Second Street.

Then in late August crews will permanently close Washington Street between Second Street and Third Street because the new Second Street Bridge will block access to Washington Street.

WSDOT will close the Second Street Bridge for demolition in mid-September. This will require full nighttime closures of Memorial Highway (State Route 536) and I-5 during bridge removal. Crews will only close one direction of I-5 at a time. Street improvements and removing and installing the new bridge may take up to 15 months to complete.

Workers will also close Division Street intermittently early in construction to lengthen turn lanes, improve drainage and repave the road.

Crews will provide signed detour routes during road closures to help drivers navigate around construction.

WSDOT awarded the Second Street Bridge removal project to Mowat Construction Company for their $9.36 million bid. 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 only has two lanes and a height clearance of 14 feet 4 inches, the lowest of all bridges on I-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.

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/.