The White River bridge between Enumclaw and Buckley opened yesterday, Oct. 17, at 10:30 a.m.
Gov. Bob Ferguson made the announcement on Oct. 16 at the bridge, flanked by Washington State Department of Transportation employees and local politicians, business owners, and other movers and shakers, all clearly ecstatic that the structure is opening weeks ahead of schedule.
“I just couldn’t be more proud of everybody who worked so hard to make that happen,” Ferguson said to a small gathering of T.V. news crews. “We were worried things could go wrong… materials take a long time to get. The weather could not cooperate. A lot of things could have gone in a different direction, but through a lot of hard work and a little but of luck, we’re super excited to be opening up this early, literally weeks early.”
The bridge was struck by a vac truck on Aug. 18, causing significant damage; WSDOT likened the situation similar to what caused the Skagit bridge to collapse in 2013.
With the bridge down, the ten-minute commute between Enumclaw and Buckley became a slog through backroads that took up to an hour. This significantly disrupted local residents’ lives and the economies of both cities, leading Ferguson to declare the bridge closure an emergency on Aug. 27.
Ferguson first visited the bridge on Sept. 8 to announce that an emergency contract would be signed by Sept. 15, and work to happen seven days a week until the bridge was fully repaired.
The contract was actually signed Sept. 13, allowing repairs to start sooner than expected, but WSDOT continued to say that the bridge was expected to open between Halloween and Nov. 14 until last Tuesday.
That changed yesterday when Ferguson’s office sent out a press invite to the bridge to announce the new opening date.
Speaking with Ferguson was Enumclaw Mayor Jan Molinaro, Buckley Mayor Beau Burkett, and King County Council member Reagan Dunn.
“You don’t often see such a quick turnaround and such a quick success story with government,” Dunn said, thanking Ferguson for his “lightning fast response.” “… It’s one of the best I’ve ever seen.”
Ferguson also said that he plans to ask for additional funds for bridge maintenance, damage response, and repairs in his supplemental budget request.
“These things happen across the sate, and when they happen, we’ve seen the impact and the cost all adds up,” he continued.
Secretary of Transportation Julie Meredith said that additional warning signs about vehicle height have been installed on both sides of the bridge, and that WSDOT is continuing to examine how an early warning over-height detection system could be potentially installed.
