All lanes of Interstate 90 are flowing again west of Cle Elum, after demolition workers removed a ruined overpass above the westbound lanes, at least two days quicker than state officials expected.
The Washington State Department of Transportation announced the reopening around dusk Friday, beating WSDOT's pledge to reopen early next week.
Contractors began removing a concrete overpass at Exit 80 (Roslyn/Suncadia) on Thursday, less than two days after an overheight truckload sheared all six girders, so the huge beams cracked and steel tensioning cables snapped. WSDOT diverted cars and trucks into a single lane at the Exit 80 interchange, to bypass the danger zone where Bullfrog Road was broken above the freeway.
https://twitter.com/SnoqualmiePass/status/1981902498349879625
One eastbound lane was closed during active demolition Thursday night, and it also reopened Friday.
During the 22-hour operation, under an emergency contract, crews from Scarsella Bros. Inc., knocked down the wreckage, then also needed to sweep and inspect the I-90 surface during daylight Friday, to ensure that concrete or metal bits wouldn't fly into drivers' windshields.
Next, WSDOT engineers will design a replacement overpass span. There's no completion date yet, but the state said it will provide more information Monday. Some temporary closures will be needed, the agency said.
State highway contractors have deep experience in rapid overpass construction, that could entail attaching prefabricated beams made in Tacoma, or even entire spans, during some overnight or weekend blitz.
The trucker, a 64-year-old man from Wingham, Ontario, was cited for a permit violation by the State Patrol. The trucker was uninjured. State officials have said they'll seek compensation.
An average 34,000 total vehicles travel four I-90 lanes here per day, with much higher counts and congestion during summer weekends. Even on damp weekdays, the detour caused backups of 1 mile or longer.
Drivers going eastbound to Suncadia and Roslyn are encouraged to use Exit 85 and Highway 903, while the overpass to Bullfrog Road is missing.
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