How to get around the Washington state Skagit River Bridge collapse

Planning on heading to Seattle this Memorial Day long weekend?

Perhaps you’re one of the thousands of Lower Mainland residents moving to-and-from Washington State for the Sasquatch! Music Festival (May 24 to 27).

If so, the photograph above was taken on the road you’re travelling.

Last night (May 23), a bridge collapsed over the Skagit River near Mount Vernon, severing the I-5, the main artery linking Vancouver and Seattle. (Traffic is being diverted. Directions around the road closure appear below.)

CBC News is reporting that American authorities look to be pinning the blame for the accident—in which nobody was killed—on William Scott, a Canadian truck driver from Spruce Grove, Alberta.

Scott was driving an oversized load over the bridge when he “did kind of clip it,” his wife told media, adding, “It shouldn't have been able to take a whole bridge down.”

Scott’s wife, Cynthia, may be on to something.

On May 21, the American Society of Civil Engineering published the Washington State edition of its 2013 Report Card for American Infrastructure.

Washington’s grade for bridges: C-.

According to a blog post announcing the report’s release, “Bridges were awarded a C-, in part due to the nearly 400 structurally deficient bridges in Washington State.”

It continues: “36 percent of Washington’s bridges are past their design life of 50 years.”

On your way south for the weekend? Already at the Gorge Amphitheatre and now wondering how you’ll navigate collapsed infrastructure through the impending post-Sasquatch hangover? Google’s got you covered.

The search giant’s Maps app promptly removed the bridge from the Skagit River and, with a couple of clicks, makes alternate routes available. (Note that the least-inconvenient detour involves driving your vehicle over another bridge, which may or may not fall out from beneath you.)

Here are Google’s southbound directions for a detour around the collapsed bridge:

Take exit 229 for George Hopper Rd - 220 m

• Turn left onto George Hopper Rd - 550 m
• Turn right onto S Burlington Blvd - 800 m
• Continue onto Riverside Dr/Watson Bridge; Continue to follow Riverside Dr - 1.8 km
• Continue onto N 4th St - 700 m
• Continue onto S 2nd St - 550 m
• Turn left onto W Kincaid St - 300 m
• Turn right onto the Interstate 5 S ramp to Seattle - 300 m
• Merge onto I-5 S

And for the way back, the same route in reverse:

Take exit 226 for Kincaid St/WA-536 W - 0.2 mi

• Keep left at the fork, follow signs for Kinaid St/Washington 536 W/City Center - 157 ft
• Turn left onto WA-536 W/Broad St/E Kincaid St; Continue to follow E Kincaid St - 0.3 mi
• Turn right onto S 2nd St - 0.3 mi
• Continue onto N 4th St  - 0.4 mi
• Continue onto Riverside Dr - 1.1 mi
• Continue onto S Burlington Blvd - 0.5 mi
• Turn left onto George Hopper Rd - 0.2 mi
• Turn right to merge onto I-5 N toward Vancouver B.C.

Best of luck.