Drivers who use State Route 410 between Enumclaw and Buckley have one week to complete their plans to navigate around a full closure of the White River Bridge.

In order to repair damage the bridge suffered when it was struck by an over-height load in 2015, contractor crews working for the Washington State Department of Transportation will close the bridge at 10 p.m. Friday, April 15. Crews are scheduled to reopen the bridge by noon Saturday, April 23.

During the closure, SR 410 will be closed to all but local traffic at 244th Avenue Southeast in Enumclaw and Park Avenue in Buckley. Drivers must use a detour route via state routes 164, 18, 167 and 410 that takes approximately 45 minutes, depending on traffic. For safety reasons, there will be no pedestrian or bicycle access across the White River Bridge during the closure. Vehicles responding to emergencies will be allowed to cross with only slight delays.

“We encourage drivers to finalize their plans and preparations now for this around-the-clock closure of the bridge,” said WSDOT Project Engineer Mike Askarian. “We understand the detour will lengthen the commutes of many, but these repairs are necessary to ensure that the bridge remains safe for drivers for years to come.”

Nearly 20,000 vehicles cross the bridge each day between the two cities.

Overnight single-lane closures

From Monday, April 11, to the morning of Thursday, April 14, a single lane of SR 410 across the bridge will be closed from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. nightly as contractor crews install scaffolding in preparation for permanent repairs.

Repair work

To repair the 67-year-old, steel-truss span, crews must replace one horizontal and one vertical support beam. Other beams will be repaired with a heat-straightening process, using repetitive heating and cooling cycles to reshape the steel. The heat-straightening work could take up to 60 hours. Crews will finish by sandblasting the repaired portions and painting them.

A combination of state and federal contributions is funding the $1.8 million project, which includes the cost of last year’s temporary repairs.

Know before you go

Puget Sound area drivers can get real-time traffic information on their phone with the WSDOT traffic app, by tracking the WSDOT traffic Twitter feed, and get advanced information from the What’s Happening Now page.

Drivers can also call the project hotline at 253-372-3933 for more information.