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Temporary I-5 Skagit River span to open this week

Frank Varga
/
AP Photo/Skagit Valley Herald

The Washington Transportation Department says a temporary span on the Interstate 5 Skagit River bridge should open this week, less than a month since a section of the bridge collapsed.

Spokesman Travis Phelps says the framework is in place and workers are tightening bolts and welding sections on the temporary structure that's 24 feet wide and 160 feet long.

He says they'll be installing panels Monday that will be paved with asphalt to form the new bridge deck.

Some other work remains, such as divers' inspecting piers, so the department isn't saying yet what day the Mount Vernon bridge will reopen.

Traffic has been detoured since May 23 when a truck with and oversize load struck the 58-year-old span, causing it to crumble. The bridge carried 71,000 vehicles a day.

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