List of Washington state bridge failures

Washington is a state with many bodies of water to cross, including Puget Sound, Hood Canal, the Columbia River and numerous smaller rivers and creeks. It has experienced a number of bridge failures before and after the well known Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse in 1940.

Causes

The single greatest cause of failure in Washington has been flooding, frequently associated with severe storms, which then results in destructive bridge scour.^[1][2][3] According to University of Washington meteorologist Cliff Mass, Western Washington is "particularly vulnerable to such bridge losses, with long floating bridges and the powerful winds associated with our terrain and incoming Pacific cyclones."^[3]

Causes of failure, 1923–1998^{[lower-alpha 1]}

Cause	Number of failures
Flood	42
Fire	8
Volcanic mud and debris	5
Collision	4
Storm	3
Overload	3
Tsunami	2
Wind	1
Unknown	2

List of bridge failures

Bridge failures 1905–2014^{[lower-alpha 2]}

Bridge name	Year built	Date of destruction	Feature Crossed	Notes
I-5 Skagit River Bridge	1955	May 23, 2013	Skagit River	Cause: Collision—Truck struck arch with fracture critical design, causing structural failure[5]
Dry Creek Bridge	Unknown	August 21, 2009	Dry Creek
Fourth Avenue Bridge	1919	April 18, 2001	Budd Inlet (Puget Sound)	Cause: Earthquake—2001 Nisqually earthquake[6][7]
Nolan Creek Bridge	1931	December 15, 1999	Nolan Creek
Carbon River Bridge	1921	March 4, 1998	Carbon River	Cause: Fire—Wooden deck and wooden approach arch burned following vehicle collision[lower-alpha 3]
Naches River Bridge	1938	February 9, 1996	Naches River
Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge	1940	November 25, 1990	Lake Washington	Cause: Storm—Severe windstorm and human error caused flooding of pontoons
Carbon River Bridge	1971	November 24, 1990	Carbon River
Nooksack River - Nugents Bridge	1946	November 10, 1989	Nooksack River
Skokomish River Bridge	1927	October 4, 1984	Skokomish River
North Fork Toutle River-Coalbanks	1972	May 18, 1980	N. Fork Toutle River	Cause: Flood—Mud and debris following 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens[lower-alpha 4]
Alder Creek Bridge	1954	May 18, 1980	Alder Creek
St. Helens Bridge	1949	May 18, 1980	Toutle River
Coldwater Creek Bridge	1933	May 18, 1980	Coldwater Creek
North Fork Toutle River Bridge	1938	May 18, 1980	N. Fork Toutle River
Russell Barker Memorial Bridge	1925	December 14, 1979	Bogachiel River
Teanaway River Bridge	1922	November 28, 1979	Teanaway River Bridge
Little Naches River Bridge	1928	August 20, 1979	Little Naches River
Hood Canal Bridge	1961	February 13, 1979	Hood Canal	Cause: Storm—February 13, 1979 windstorm
Johnson Creek Bridge	19	October 1, 1978	Johnson Creek
Goat Creek Bridge	1922	December 3, 1977	Goat Creek
Bear Canyon	1936	December 2, 1977	Bear Creek
Creek	Unknown	December 2, 1977	Creek
Satus Creek Bridge	1959	January 19, 1974	Satus Creek	Cause: Flood—Floodwaters from January 17 event broke through ice jam on January 19. U.S. Highway 97 and many county roads cut; White Swan unreachable by road; entire county declared Federal disaster area.[12]
Satus Creek Third Crossing	1942	January 19, 1974	Satus Creek
Satus Creek Fourth Crossing	1942	January 19, 1974	Satus Creek
Satus Creek First Crossing	1942	January 19, 1974	Satus Creek
Klickitat River Bridge	1954	January 19, 1974	Klickitat River
Coal Creek Bridge	1945	February 4, 1971	Coal Creek
Dry Creek Bridge	Unknown	January 1, 1971	Dry Creek
Columbia River Bridge, Brewster	1927	August 5, 1968	Columbia River	Cause: Fire—Welding torch ignited wood deck, heat weakened steel, causing structural failure[8]
Cowlitz River - Nesika	Unknown	November 1, 1967	Cowlitz River
Lake Creek	1950	November 15, 1966	Lake Creek
Scatter Creek Bridge	1932	January 29, 1965	Scatter Creek
Smith Creek Bridge	Unknown	June 1, 1964	Smith Creek
Copalis River Bridge	1952	March 27, 1964	Copalis River
Joe Creek Bridge	1953	March 27, 1964	Joe Creek
Chow Chow Bridge	1952	1964, 1973, 1988	Quinault River	Collapsed three times. Timbers made into cedar shakes for tribal center in Taholah after 1988 collapse.[13] Was an early cable-stayed bridge design on the Quinault Indian Reservation near Taholah, one of the first cable-stayed bridges in the U.S.[14]
Rocky Creek Bridge	1947	November 19, 1962	Rocky Creek
Gallup Creek Bridge	1956	November 19, 1962	Gallup Creek
Peshastin Creek	1923	November 20, 1959	Peshastin Creek
Salmon Creek Bridge	1927	January 5, 1956	Salmon Creek	Cause: Bridge scour—Floating tree lodged under pier. Bridge collapsed 13 days after U.S. Highway 99 was opened.[2]
South Prarrie Creek Bridge	1941	December 11, 1955	South Prarrie Creek
Snake River at Burbank	1920	September 9, 1949	Snake River
Salmon Creek Bridge	1927	February 23, 1949	Salmon Creek
Robinson Creek Br.	Unknown	June 14, 1948	Robinson Creek	Cause: Flooding[lower-alpha 5]
Lost River Bridge	Unknown	June 14, 1948	Lost River
Methow River Bridge	1918	June 14, 1948	Methow River
Little Boulder Creek Bridge	Unknown	June 14, 1948	Little Boulder Creek
Chewuck River Bridge	Unknown	June 14, 1948	Chewuck River
Methow River at Winthrop	1933	June 14, 1948	Methow River
Methow River Bridge at Twisp	1931	June 14, 1948	Methow River
Methow River Bridge	1939	June 14, 1948	Methow River
Methow River Bridge	1939	June 14, 1948	Methow River
Methow River Bridge	1933	June 14, 1948	Methow River
Pine Creek Bridge	1918	June 1, 1948	Pine Creek
Cle Elum River Bridge	1929	May 31, 1948	Cle Elum River
Centralia Power Canal Bridge	1936	September 24, 1947	Centralia Power Canal
Hoko River Bridge	Unknown	April 22, 1947	Hoko River	Cause: Overloading—20-ton fully loaded logging truck attempted to cross 5-ton rated bridge.[16]
Washougal River Bridge	1926	February 6, 1947	Washougal River	Cause: Fire—Fuel tanker truck collision weakened steel, followed by structural failure[8]
Mashel River Bridge	1916	December 11, 1946	Mashel River
St. Helens Bridge	Unknown	December 11, 1946	Toutle River
Rocky Creek Bridge	1929	October 25, 1945	Rocky Creek
Gallup Creek Bridge	Unknown	October 25, 1945	Gallup Creek
Cora Bridge	1925	November 12, 1943	Cowlitz River
Razorhone Creek (Lower)	Unknown	June 26, 1943	Razorhone Creek
Razorhone Creek (Upper)	Unknown	June 26, 1943	Razorhone Creek
Adna Bridge	1932	May 1, 1943	Chehalis River
Lindberg Over Crossing	1933	March 2, 1943	C.M.St.R.&P. Rail Road.
Long Lake Bridge	1911	September 26, 1942	Spokane River	Cause: Vibration—Sheep herd crossing bridge[17]
Tacoma Narrows Bridge	1940	November 7, 1940	Tacoma Narrows (Puget Sound)	Cause: Wind/Design flaw—Aeroelastic fluttering (wind dynamics) leading to structural failure
Detillion Bridge	Unknown	May 24, 1939	Spokane River	Cause: Collision—Tractor-trailer collision on deck[18]
Wenatchee Avenue Bridge	c. 1894	July 4, 1917	Wenatchee River	Cause: Fire—Independence Day celebratory fireworks burned wooden deck[lower-alpha 6]
Division Street Bridge	1892	December 18, 1915	Spokane River	Cause: Collision or metal fatigue[lower-alpha 7]
Allen Street Bridge also called Kelso-Longview Bridge	1906	January 3, 1923	Cowlitz River	Cause: Some combination of storm, collision, overloading. Deadliest Washington bridge disaster with at least 17 deaths.[20]
Columbia River Bridge, Brewster	1927	May 2, 1905	Columbia River
Snoqualmie River Bridge	1931	April 17, 1905	Snoqualmie River

Notes

1. Failures from Holstine and Hobbs analysis of 1923–1998 WSDOT data; excludes demoliton, removal, replacement^[1]
2. Bridge failure data from WSDOT 1905–2009 list^[4] unless noted.
3. Deck rebuilt over existing steel arch^[8]
4. Some sources say a total of 27 bridges had to be replaced^[9][10][11]
5. Holstine and Hobbs say 7 bridges lost, this apparently does not count losses on minor tributaries of the Methow.^[15]
6. Rebuilt over existing steel structure^[8]
7. Floods in 1894 carried part of an upstream railroad bridge into the Division Street bridge in 1894; metal fatigue, shoddy steel, and a design flaw were also cited by contemporary sources^[19]

Citations

1. Holstine & Hobbs 2005, p. 52.
2. Holstine & Hobbs 2005, p. 58.
3. Mass 2013.
4. WSDOT 2009.
5. KING 2013.
6. Holstine & Hobbs 2005, pp. 59–60.
7. Olympian 2001.
8. Holstine & Hobbs 2005, p. 56.
9. Girty 2009.
10. Fisher, Heiken & Hulen 1997.
11. Foxworthy & Hill 1982.
12. FEMA 2013.
13. Holstine & Hobbs 2005, p. 59.
14. Chow Chow Suspension Bridge, Spanning Quinault River, Taholah, Grays Harbor County, WA, Library of Congress
15. Holstine & Hobbs 2005, p. 57.
16. Holstine & Hobbs 2005, p. 54.
17. Holstine & Hobbs 2005, p. 134.
18. Holstine & Hobbs 2005, p. 133.
19. Arksey 2006.
20. Holstine & Hobbs 2005, p. 55.

References

• Foxworthy, Bruce LaVerne; Hill, Mary (1982), "Mudflows and floods", Volcanic eruptions of 1980 at Mount St. Helens: the first 100 days (Volume 1249 of Geological Survey professional paper), United States Geological Survey/Government Printing Office, pp. 61–65
• Fisher, Richard V.; Heiken, Grant; Hulen, Jeffrey B. (1997), Volcanoes: Crucibles of Change, Princeton University Press, ISBN 0-691-01213-X – via The New York Times Book Review
• Girty, G.H. (June 2009), "Mt. St. Helens: A Case Study", Perilous Earth: Understanding Processes Behind Natural Disasters, ver. 1.0 (PDF), Department of Geological Sciences, San Diego State University
• Mass, Cliff (May 27, 2013), Collapsing Bridges: A Washington State Tradition!
• Holstine, Craig E.; Hobbs, Richard (2005), Spanning Washington: Historic Highway Bridges of the Evergreen State, Washington State University Press
• Broken bridges part of Washington history, Seattle Times, May 24, 2013
  • List of Washington State bridge failures (PDF), Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), c. 2009 – via The Seattle Times
• Holstine, Craig E.; Hobbs, Richard (2005), Spanning Washington: Historic Highway Bridges of the Evergreen State, Washington State University Press, ISBN 9780874222814
• I-5 bridge collapses over Skagit River, no fatalities, Seattle: KING-TV, Associated Press, May 23, 2013, retrieved May 23, 2013
• Laura Arksey (February 14, 2006), Spokane's Division Street Bridge collapses on December 18, 1915, HistoryLink
• "Fourth Avenue bridge: Bridge over rubbled water". The Olympian. 2001. Archived from the original on 2001-11-03.
• Flood insurance study: Yakima County, Washington (PDF), Federal Emergency Management Agency, October 1, 2013, pp. 14–15