Washington State Department of Transportation crews inspect damage to the 13th Street overpass in October.
The Washington State Department of Transportation corrected an earlier statement to The Chronicle this week, saying that work to repair the 13th Street Interstate 5 overpass in Chehalis was not delayed by the passage of Tim Eyman’s Initiative 976 to lower car tabs to $30.
A commercial vehicle clipped the overpass Feb. 25, damaging a portion of its northbound side. The overpass was previously damaged in a similar incident in October, 2019.
The previous incident in 2019 led Governor Jay Inslee to declare a state of emergency based off the damage to expedite funding for repairs, estimated at $1 million.
WSDOT erroneously reported to The Chronicle last month that a replacement span to the overpass was put on hold due to the passing of I-976, the initiative limiting vehicle taxes and fees. Other transportation projects around the state have been postponed due to the projected loss in funding.
According to WSDOT, plans to replace a span of the bridge are ongoing. On Dec. 5, 2019, WSDOT did an overnight survey of the bridge to begin designing a replacement span.The design is expected to be completed this month, WSDOT spokesperson Tamara Greenwell said, at which point they will begin the bidding process to contract the work.
Greenwell added there is currently not a projected time for the project to be completed, saying there are too many variables at this point in time to give an accurate projection.
