A busy bridge near Buckley will be out of commission for a full month, requiring drivers to use a variety of alternate routes.

The 82-year-old span on state Route 162 (also identified as Pioneer Way) will be shut down from 6 a.m. Monday, Aug. 20, to 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 20. The bridge sits between the SR 162 junction with SR 165 and Mundy Loss Road. It is used by travelers headed north into Buckley; west to South Prairie and Orting; or south to Burnett, Wilkeson and Carbonado. It also gets heavy use by those headed to White River High School, which is accessed only by using Mundy Loss Road.

Detours will especially impact school bus routes, anyone headed to the high school or parents driving children to Mountain Meadow Elementary at the corner of Mundy Loss Road and 120th.

While the 226-foot-long structure is closed, WSDOT bridge crews will conduct a thorough inspection, then patch and inspect strategic portions of the bridge deck during daytime hours; that will be followed by overnight 12-hour concrete cures. Finally, a waterproof seal will be applied to the road surface.

A signed detour route, warning motorists of the coming bridge closure, has already been posted along roads in the area.

“Our goal is to do this work as quickly and efficiently as possible,” said Chris Keegan, WSDOT regional bridge operations engineer. “Our approach to this work is to ‘get in, stay in – get out, stay out.’”

Shutting the bridge down completely, Keegan said, will allow the DOT to “finish the work more quickly, save money, and provide a safer work zone for everyone.”

Once bridge preservation engineers are able to ascertain the extent of wear on the bridge, they will determine if any restrictions need to be placed on the bridge upon reopening. In the long run, WSDOT plans to build a new Spiketon Creek Bridge. That item on the DOT wish list is entirely dependent upon available funding.

While drivers will be impacted by the bridge closure, those using the Foothills Trail under the bridge will not be impacted. The popular, paved trail winds directly under the bridge but will remain open at all times.