King County Council member Reagan Dunn is proposing a new law that would hold drivers accountable when they damage bridge infrastructure.
Dunn penned an Oct. 23 letter to Washington State Department of Transportation Secretary Julie Meredith urging the state to further study bridge collisions and their causes, install early-warning systems, and even adopt a “Stupid Motorist Law” that would impose steeper fines for drivers of commercial vehicles for over-height violations.
The letter came almost a week after the White River bridge, which was itself struck by an over-height vac truck on Aug. 18, closing it for two months until it’s surprise opening on Oct. 17.
WSDOT’s original timeline for opening the bridge back up to an average of 22,000 commuters daily was between Halloween and Nov. 14, but multiple factors, like weather, available materials and inspectors, and that work was being done seven days a week contributed to a far quicker result.
“In light of this successful outcome, I wanted to reach out to you regarding the troubling pattern of oversized vehicle strikes against Washington’s transportation infrastructure,” Dunn wrote, noting that after the White River bridge was closed, a bridge near the city of Pacific was struct on Sept. 23 — and two days later, the Bullfrog Road overpass on westbound I-90 was also damaged and “severely limit[ed] traffic on a key mountain pass and gateway to King County.”
“These incidents impose heavy costs, not just due to repairs, but also in lost time, risks to public safety, disrupted freight movement, and significant economic harms,” he continued. “And I believe this problem is getting worse, not better.”
Meredith has said what WSDOT is continuing to examine what early over-height warning systems would work best for Washington state infrastructure, but did not commit a timeline for any sort of decision or implementation.
Dunn’s proposed “Stupid Motorist Law,” he said, could be similar to one in Arizona, although with some key differences: Arizona’s law focuses on drivers who become stranded after driving around barricades to enter flooded roadways and charging them for rescue and a further $2,000 fine.
WSDOT Communications Manager RB McKeon said that reimbursement from the third parties that struck both the White River bridge and the SR 167 bridge is underway, but provided no extra details.
“Although WSDOT is not an enforcement entity and does not have authority to impose fines, we routinely seek to recover damage costs whenever possible in cases like these bridge strikes,” she said. “These incidents are preventable, and we look forward to additional conversations to include multiple partners as we all work together to reduce how often they occur.”
McKeon added that the estimated cost of the bridge is coming in at $4.5 million, down from the $6 million estimate made before repairs began.
