Interstate 5 is snarled this evening after a bridge spanning the Skagit River near Mount Vernon collapsed.
According to KING 5, the incident occurred around 7 p.m. and northbound and southbound lanes are now closed. It’s unclear at this point what caused the collapse and how many people were injured, but eyewitnesses indicated that some cars were submerged in the water.
Structural engineers will no doubt be spending lots of time analyzing the incident, and Washington state certainly has a history of famous bridge collapses.
Check out full coverage from our news partner KING 5, or follow on Twitter #skagitbridge and #I5BridgeCollapse. The Seattle Times reports that the bridge, built in 1995, was classified by the National Bridge Inventory as “functionally obsolete” in 2000 and 2010.
Mount Vernon is located about 60 miles north of Seattle. I-5 is the main north-to-south artery in the state, connecting Vancouver, B.C. to Seattle. Gov. Jay Inslee is reportedly on the route to the scene.
UPDATE 9:04 p.m.: The Skagit County Sheriff’s Office says three people have been rescued from the water. KING 5 is reporting that an oversized vehicle hit the bridge, and caused the collapse.
UPDATE 10:40 p.m. Reportedly no fatalities in bridge collapse.
