Old Puyallup River bridge removed, new ones open to traffic

The Puyallup River bridges on state Route 167 are open again, after crews closed them for the weekend to remove an old steel truss span that was replaced in June.

The bridges were supposed to reopen early Monday, but were available to drivers Sunday when work finished early.

Crews used dollies to haul the 1925 bridge to state Department of Transportation land nearby, where they’ll store it for up to four years.

The agency hopes the bridge can be used elsewhere, such as for pedestrians. If that doesn’t work, it will be recycled.

Originally the steel truss bridge carried both directions of traffic, according to the Transportation Department. After a southbound bridge was built in 1971, the old span was designated for northbound vehicles.

The northbound bridge that replaced the old span opened to traffic June 28. It has wider sidewalks, and overwidth and overheight restrictions were removed.

This story was originally published August 11, 2015 at 5:43 PM with the headline "Old Puyallup River bridge removed, new ones open to traffic."