When will crews reopen the White River Bridge? Governor visits site of repairs
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Gov. Ferguson inspected White River Bridge as emergency repairs progressed Monday.
- A truck strike on Aug. 18 forced closure; one-lane traffic to resume mid-September.
- Emergency order enables federal funding access for full bridge repair completion.
The White River Bridge is tentatively set to reopen later this fall – several weeks longer than the state originally estimated.
At a press conference Monday morning, Gov. Bob Ferguson said crews are aiming to open the bridge to two-lane traffic between Oct. 31 and Nov. 15. Ferguson said this is an estimate and it could be later if the weather is bad or if materials get delayed during shipping.
Ferguson held the conference on the Enumclaw side of the bridge, with crew members working on the bridge as he spoke. Also in attendance were Beau Burkett, the mayor of Buckley and Jan Molinaro, mayor of Enumclaw.
Ferguson said contracted workers will work on the bridge seven days a week until it is ready, with work starting as early as Sept. 15 – the day the emergency contract takes effect.
When The News Tribune asked how much the repairs will cost, Ferguson said it is currently estimated to cost between $5 and $6 million.
The bridge, which links Buckley in Pierce County to Enumclaw in King County, shut down on Aug. 18 after a truck hit it and caused serious damage. Closing the bridge has resulted in significantly longer detours, and local businesses are struggling.
“Folks are losing their jobs as a result of what’s going on, people having a challenging time getting prescriptions, visiting their doctors, living their lives, commuting to work – all that goes into normal life,” Ferguson said. “When something like this happens, when an accident like this happens, it has huge ramifications. We’re here to also say: ‘We hear that, we understand that.’”
The Washington State Department of Transportation previously announced that it would put up temporary steel braces and reopen one lane in September. The agency installed those braces on Friday but has now reversed course, saying it will save the crews time to move straight into permanent repairs.
“I know there is potentially some that are disappointed that we aren’t opening it up to single-lane traffic,” Julie Meredith, WSDOT’s secretary of transportation, said at the conference. “But moving directly into permanent repairs under an emergency contract reduces the time it will take for this long-term disruption underway and it restores two-way traffic as soon as possible. The bridge must remain fully closed so that our contractor can put every effort into opening it up quickly.”
Meredith said 10 “critical components” on the bridge were damaged in the crash, “which is significant.”
Geoff Swett, the bridge designer and steel specialist, said he was grateful the bridge could be salvaged, likening it to the 2013 Skagit River Bridge collapse.
“We were actually really lucky that we didn’t have another Skagit River incident here because the design of this truss was a little more different than that one,” Swett said. “It was just a little more resilient and we didn’t lose the whole bridge, thank goodness.”
The News Tribune asked Meredith where the $5 to $6 million to repair the bridge will come from, and she said this will come from the state’s preservation fund – but WSDOT is seeking to get reimbursed through the Federal Highway Administration because the closure was a result of third-party damage.
Ferguson also declared a state of emergency for the bridge closure on Aug. 27, allowing the state to seek federal funds.
“I’m a glass-half-full kind of guy, so I’m going to remain optimistic [that we get federal funds], especially for an event like this, where there’s damage to a key link to our communities here in Washington state,” Ferguson said.
Ferguson acknowledged that there have been cases where Washington state has not received Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds, but said the state is working to meet all of the federal government’s requirements to maximize its chances of getting federal help.
“[Repairs are] going to get done and it’s going to get paid for, whether it’s entirely by the state or with assistance from the federal government, which we certainly hope for,” Ferguson said. “Now, how much we can expect? That part remains to be seen – but we have the resources necessary to do this on our own as a state. It is absolutely necessary to get this done.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include comments from the press conference. An earlier version of this article misstated when the bridge is expected to reopen. Crews hope to open both lanes of the bridge between Oct. 31 and Nov. 15.
This story was originally published September 8, 2025 at 11:07 AM.
