All lanes of Interstate 5 have reopened across the Skagit River Bridge in Mount Vernon, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation, following a bridge collapse last month.

Drivers will notice a reduced speed limit of 40 mile an hour between College Way and State Route 20 before they approach the temporary span on the north side of the bridge.

Freight haulers carrying legal loads will not be detoured off I-5, but oversized or overweight loads must exit and use the marked detour route.

Drivers should also be aware that each direction of the temporary span is narrower, and has been reduced from two 12-foot lanes with 3-foot shoulders, to two 11-foot lanes with 1-foot shoulders.

“Roughly 99 percent of the car and truck traffic will be able to cross the I-5 bridge again,” said WSDOT Secretary Lynn Peterson. “This will dramatically reduce the congestion through Mount Vernon and Burlington, and hopefully bring some much-needed normalcy back to our communities.”



WSDOT has announced a contract has been awarded to build the permanent fix for the bridge. That contractor is anticipated to begin work this week and have the finished section ready for installation after the Labor Day weekend and before Oct 1. Installation of the new span could require a full closure of I-5 for up to two weeks.

A portion of a bridge on I-5 collapsed into the Skagit River near Mount Vernon Thursday, May 23, after a semi-truck struck critical steel supports. Three people were injured.

This vital corridor carries an average of 71,000 vehicles each day and is the only north-south interstate in Washington state.



For more information on the project or to sign up for e-mail updates, visit www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/I5/SkagitRiverBridgeReplacement.