I-5 Bridge Collapse

I-5 Bridge Collapsed

We headed up north this morning to our favorite weekend breakfast spot, then drove on up Hwy 9 to Mt. Vernon.  There really wasn't the traffic we expected on 9, but of course that will probably change tomorrow when people are coming back from the three-day weekend.

Truck & car in the "drink"

 We parked near Home Depot & walked over to see the view from the nearest bridge - that is now taking all the I-5 traffic on the detour through Mt. Vernon & back over to I-5.  It was solid with traffic, the wait at the lights was long, but everyone was moving.  When we stopped in at Skagit Cycle, the guys there told us that in the last few days, a motorcycle police officer has been spending his time going back/forth up the center turn lanes, pulling people over & ticketing them for whatever he can find.  Guess all that traffic makes an unhappy group of drivers - he can make even more unhappy with a ticket!

North end of the bridge~

South side

Standing there looking over at the tangled mess of steel - it's really almost surreal that anyone could have survived the collapse.  The scale of the mess can only be realized when you see that the gray truck & red car are still there in the water!  I've seen the interviews on the news, those people are so thankful to have survived!

It will continue to create a traffic nightmare for the months ahead until the crews can either get in a temporary bridge, or get construction going on a new section, or a new bridge!  If the bridge is marginal - maybe it's time to bite-the-bullet & replace it!

We've gone over it many times, of those - several with large trucks in front of us that just miss hitting as they go across.  Then there's the days when the wind is blowing too!  Who would think that a hit to one of those upper steel beams could bring it all down?

I suggested to one of the workman that a flag needs to be flying from one end or the other of that open span!