State of emergency declared around collapsed bridge

William M. Welch and Doug Stanglin | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Wash. bridge collapse survivor: 'Rough day' Bridge collapse survivor Dan Sligh described his entire ordeal while talking to reporters in Washington State. Sligh was driving on the I-5 Bridge over the Skagit River when a section of it collapsed, sending his vehicle into the water. (May 24)

The bridge is on a major artery between Seattle and Canada

Major traffic disruptions expected

Three people hospitalized%3B no fatalities

Gov. Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency Friday for three counties of northwest Washington state Friday to cope with disruption to traffic and the economy from the collapse of an Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River.

"The roadway damage and its effects continue to impact the life and health of our citizens, as well as the property and transportation infrastructure of Washington state, all of which affect life, health, property or the public peace, and constitute a public disaster demanding immediate action," Inslee said in his emergency decree covering Skagit, Snohomish and Whatcom counties.

A large section of the 1,111-foot steel-and-concrete bridge collapsed Thursday evening, sending two vehicles into the river, after a truck carrying an excessively tall load of drilling equipment struck an overhead girder, Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste said Friday.

Three people were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries Thursday evening, but there were no fatalities.

The accident knocked out a major north-south artery between Seattle, 60 miles south, to Canada that sends an average of 71,000 vehicles across the bridge every day.

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The governor's proclamation directed state agencies and department to "to do everything reasonably possible" to help local communities.

Inslee estimated that repairs would cost $15 million, but officials were unable to say how long the bridge would be closed.

Friday afternoon, the state received $1 million in emergency funds from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

State transportation officials said backups on the detour route would be -- at minimum 40 minutes -- and get worse over the Memorial Day weekend.

"It's going to be slow going out there," said state Department of Transportation spokesman Mike Allende. "We're advising people to stay home if they can, or leave as early as possible."

"We're hopeful that people will adjust their plans, but this is one of the biggest travel weekends that we have," he said.

The State Patrol said the driver of the truck works for Mullen Trucking in Alberta. The tractor-trailer was hauling housing for drilling equipment to Vancouver, Wash., when the top right front corner of the load struck several trusses on the north end of the bridge, the patrol said.

The driver, William Scott, of Spruce Grove, Alberta, near Edmonton, voluntarily gave a blood sample for an alcohol test and was not arrested. A top company official said Scott was amazed by what he saw happen.

"He's a little bit bewildered," Ed Scherbinski, vice president of Mullen Trucking, said in an interview with the Associated Press. "He looks in the (rearview) mirror and the bridge is coming down behind him."

The bridge, built in 1955, is listed by the National Bridge Inventory (NBI) as "fracture critical," which means that the entire structure can be brought down if even one major part fails, The Seattle Times reported.

Bridges that have redundant features are designed to remain intact if one a single section is damaged.

The trucking company said it received a state-issued permit to carry its oversized load across the bridge. Scherbinski said the Washington state Department of Transportation had approved of the company's plan to drive the equipment along the route.

He also said the company hired a local escort to help navigate the route. He said the driver was well-experienced with handling oversized loads.

"This is what we do for a living. We pride ourselves in doing things the proper way," he said.

Mike Allende, a state DOT spokesman, confirmed the truck had its permit.

"We're still trying to figure out why it hit the bridge," he said. "It's ultimately up to the trucking company to figure out whether it can get through. It's their responsibility to make sure the load they have can travel on that route."

State regulations require pilot cars for any load taller than 14 feet, 6 inches. The trucking company must check or rerun the route to ensure there are no overhead obstructions.

Pilot cars must be equipped with a measuring device that extends between 3 and 6 inches above the load's maximum height. Pilots must also be far enough in front so a truck can stop safely if its cargo is determined to be too tall.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the collapse.

Cynthia Scott, of Spruce Grove, Alberta, said she spoke with her husband moments after he saw the bridge fall into a river in his rearview mirror. Cynthia Scott said there was a small ding in one of the front corners of the load.

Dave Chesson, a state DOT spokesman, said there were no signs leading up to the bridge warning about its clearance height.

Dan Sligh, 47, and his wife, Sally, were off on a Memorial Day camping trip in their pickup when the bridge stretching out ahead suddenly disappeared in a "big puff of dust."

"I hit the brakes and we went off," Sligh told reporters from a hospital, adding he "saw the water approaching ... you hold on as tight as you can."

Sligh said he dislocated his shoulder but managed to climb out of the vehicle. His wife was knocked unconscious, and he kept her head above water until rescuers arrived more than an hour later.

Emergency teams also rescued one man sitting on top of his car, prompting bystanders to applaud when he reached dry land.

Jeremiah Thomas, a volunteer firefighter, said he was driving nearby when he glimpsed something out of the corner of his eye and turned to look.

"The bridge just went down; it crashed through the water," he said. "It was really surreal."

The bridge, which was classified by the NBI as "functionally obsolete," was inspected twice last year -- once in August and once in November after a vehicle struck it -- and was repaired, according to state Transportation Secretary Lynn Peterson.

The 58-year-old bridge has a sufficiency rating of 57.4 out of 100, according to federal records. That is well below the statewide average rating of 80, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal data, but 759 bridges in the state have a lower sufficiency score.

The state DOT rated the Skagit River Bridge 47 on its scale of 100.

According to a 2012 Skagit County Public Works Department report, 42 of the county's 108 bridges are 50 years or older. The document says eight of the bridges are more than 70 years old and two are over 80.

Washington state was given a C in the American Society of Civil Engineers' 2013 infrastructure report card and a C- when it came to the state's bridges. The group said more than a quarter of Washington's 7,840 bridges are considered "structurally deficient" or "functionally obsolete."

The state DOT said neither rating affects a bridge's structural integrity.

The agency determines functional obsolescence by comparing a bridge's configuration with current standards and demands.

A bridge can be categorized functionally obsolete a number of ways like having substandard lane widths, or narrow shoulders. Another example would be a bridge that doesn't have enough vertical clearance for large trucks to pass under, causing repeat hits and damage to the bridge.

A bridge found to be structurally deficient "requires repair or replacement of a certain component."

This may include cracked or spalled concrete, the bridge deck, the support structure, or the entire bridge itself. If the condition is such that it no longer is able to carry its intended traffic loads it may be weight restricted. Being structurally deficient does not imply that the bridge is in danger of collapse or unsafe to the traveling public.

The agency said that as of Feb. 21, there were 135 state-owned bridges classified as structurally deficient, and repair work had been completed or was in progress on 15 spans.

To qualify for federal replacement funds, bridges must have a sufficiency rating of 50 or below. To qualify for U.S. rehabilitation funds, a bridge must rated 80 or lower.

As of June 2011, 5% of the state-owned bridges were rated in "poor" condition, the lowest of three rankings.

Contributing: The Associated Press; Michael Winter, USA TODAY, from San Francisco