MOUNT VERNON — The cause of the 2013 collapse of the I-5 Skagit River Bridge was a matter of inches.
Two, to be precise.
Detectives from the Washington State Patrol have determined that the truck that struck the bridge causing its collapse was two inches over height.
That is a similar finding to a federal study released in July.
The State Patrol reported results of its investigation Monday in an 18-page case summary.
“Ultimately the driver is responsible for that load, nobody else,” said State Patrol Lt. Shane Nelson, special investigations commander of the Major Accident Investigation Team.
The truck driver, William D.W. Scott, 42, of Alberta, Canada, was cited with negligent driving in May. Trial is scheduled for June 2015.
Patrol detectives found the truck was permitted to carry a load of no higher than 15 feet 9 inches. After the bridge collapse, they noted the load measured 15 feet 11 inches. The over-height load struck 11 of the bridge’s sway braces as it crossed the structure.
The truck’s pilot car was equipped with a height-safety pole, which also hit the bridge structure. However, the driver was less than five seconds in front of the truck.
“This time and distance would not have been sufficient to mitigate the speed and avoid striking the structures,” the report concluded.
The collapse happened shortly after 7 p.m. May 23, 2013, a Thursday evening.
Two vehicles plunged into the river and the occupants were pulled out by a Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office marine patrol unit. The three people in the pickup and compact sport utility vehicle have recovered.
Traffic was snarled for months while construction crews worked around the clock on a replacement bridge.
The lone fatality related to the collapse occurred eight days after when trooper Sean O’Connell was killed while directing traffic at a detour around the scene. The bridge has been renamed to honor the Lake Stevens trooper.
Scott told investigators a freight truck came up fast on his left, passing him and making him feel squeezed in, the report said. He said he drove to the bridge’s right side, which had a lower vertical clearance than the center lane.
If he had stayed farther to the left, even about 2 feet from the fog line, he would have had enough clearance, Nelson said.
The top of the load hit the far right side of the overhead truss structure.
The State Patrol investigation included five troopers who specialize in accident reconstruction. Their investigation “directly attributes the cause of this collision to William Scott for failure to ensure his load height was proper and not knowing the clearance heights on the bridge,” according to the report.
Scott should have known well in advance what position he would need on the bridge to ensure he was clear, troopers wrote. The bridge had a maximum clearance of 17 feet 3 inches, but he was unable to move left to the higher clearance.
“This responsibility belongs to the hauler,” the State Patrol report said.
More than 71,000 drivers each day use the I-5 Skagit River Bridge, which connects communities in Skagit County and well beyond. The state Department of Transportation was able to open the bridge to traffic in 27 days with a temporary span. A permanent replacement was in place by September 2013.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com
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