WSDOT to install over-height detection system on White River Bridge
Published 1:30 am Thursday, July 9, 2026
In light of the White River bridge disaster last summer and fall, the Washington State Department of Transportation will be installing a new over-height system starting.
Commuters may have already noticed workers on this bridge this week, but lane shifts aren’t expected to affect traffic until next week.
Crews will be working Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., for several weeks.
According to a WSDOT press release, both directions of SR 410 are expected to remain open across the bridge during the work, but drivers may see shifted lanes, narrowed shoulders and crews and equipment near the roadway.
The new system is expected to be operational by the end of the month.
“When an over height vehicle is detected, the system will activate warnings before the vehicle reaches the bridge – these include flashing beacons, dynamic messaging signs and audible alarms,” WSDOT Communications Manager RB McKeon said. “The goal is to give drivers enough advance notice to stop before striking the bridge, providing another layer of active warning beyond the static signs that are there now.”
The White River Bridge was suddenly closed Aug. 18 when a raised vac truck caused extensive damage when it hit the structure, throwing the Plateau into chaos as people suddenly had to walk across the new Foothills Trail bridge and arrange rides, or be forced to commute for an hour instead of a ten-minute jaunt down the highway (with exception to the infamous Buckley Crawl).
Gov. Bob Ferguson declared the bridge closure to be an official emergency on Aug. 27, giving the state additional powers to quickly begin work on the bridge.
Construction on the bridge was around the clock, and it opened Oct. 17, a month before original projections.
The total cost of the project was not made available at this time; additional insight into why WSDOT determined this system to be appropriate for the White River bridge may be made available next week.
This is an ongoing story, and will be updated when more information is made available.
