Washington State I-5 Bridge to Open This Weekend

The Interstate 5 Skagit River Bridge, in Burlington, Wash. is on schedule to be completed later his week -- but there will still be detours through mid-November, according to the Washington State Transportation Department.

Barring any last minute schedule changes, drivers will wake up to a new, permanent span on Sunday morning, Sept. 15.

Crews will detour traffic on I-5 between College Way and George Hopper Road starting at 7 p.m on Saturday until 7 a.m. on Sunday, using the detour routes that were established when the bridge was closed in late May.

Once I-5 traffic is detoured, contractor crews will move the two temporary spans out of the way and slide the new 900-ton span into position from the west side of the existing bridge and lower and lock it into place.

Drivers can then expect additional nighttime detours of one or both directions of I-5 at the Skagit River Bridge beginning Sept. 16, and continuing through mid-November. The detours will give contractor crews the space they need to begin retrofitting the overhead bridge supports.

A portion of the bridge on I-5 collapsed into the Skagit River on May 23, after a semi-truck struck critical steel supports. This vital corridor carries 71,000 vehicles each day and is the only north-south interstate in Washington State. The I-5 Skagit River Bridge reopened to traffic on June 19, after contractor crews installed temporary spans.

Updates on the detour hours will be available on the project web page.