Drivers who use State Route 410/Enumclaw-Buckley Road might avoid possible delays near the White River Bridge by sleeping in and making up for the hour lost to daylight saving time Sunday, March 13.
Washington State Department of Transportation maintenance crews will close one lane of SR 410 at the White River Bridge from 6:30 to 10 a.m. for bridge inspection work. Flaggers will alternate traffic across the bridge in the open lane.
In April 2015, WSDOT bridge engineers discovered severe damage to the overhead steel truss during a routine inspection and closed the structure for seven days while temporary repairs were completed. Engineers believe an over height load struck the bridge in the westbound lane. This follow up inspection will evaluate the condition of the temporary repairs ahead of scheduled permanent repairs next month.
Week-long full closure
Drivers should plan ahead for a week-long full closure of the bridge for permanent repair work from 10 p.m. Friday, April 15, through noon Saturday, April 23. SR 410 will be closed to all but local traffic at 244th Avenue Southeast in Enumclaw and Park Avenue in Buckley.
The detour route will be the same one used during the 2015 emergency closure via State Route 164, State Route 18, State Route 167 and SR 410. Local residents can call the project hotline at 253-372-3933 for more information. WSDOT maintenance crews recently installed bridge closure information signs with the hotline number at both ends of the bridge.
For safety reasons, there will be no pedestrian or bicycle access across the White River Bridge during the full closure.
“There will be a lot of equipment moving overhead and sparks from welding that could drop below,” said WSDOT Project Engineer Mike Askarian. “We couldn’t find a way to safely complete this work with pedestrians and cyclists crossing the bridge.”
Single-lane closures
Traffic may occasionally alternate through a single lane across the bridge in the days leading up to and after the week-long full closure.
Know before you go
In the 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.
